PUGLIA - TRULLI IN ALBEROBELLO

One of the places in Italy we'd always wanted to visit was PUGLIA, down in the heel of the boot.  We were lucky enough to have friends who own a second home in Ostuni and who offered it to us for our stay.  Down in southern Italy you could easily imagine yourself in Greece just as easily as Italy.  The whitewashed town of Ostuni tumbles down the hillside just as villages in Umbria do, but the feel is much more mediterranean.  The town of Ostuni has an ancient feel to it, but it's very much alive, and was a great place to call home for a brief period. 
 

Not far from Ostuni is the town of Alberobello.  Here is where you'll find the TRULLI, round stone houses made completely out of stone, including the roof.  Rocks are plentiful in this area, so of course it's logical that the house are built of stone, but the unique way in which these houses are built makes them even more interesting.  One theory is that these houses were built so that they could be quickly and easily disassmebled, thereby avoiding being taxed for a 'permanent' structure. 
 

There are mysterious markings on many of the trulli roofs, and depsite all the theories, no one really knows what they symbolized. 
 




This area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, guaranteeing that the trulli will remain authentic for the world to enjoy.  The trulli of Alberobello are still inhabitated, some as private homes, some as tourist shops.  Wlaking through the streets among the trulli, despite the shops, despite the tourists, feels very much like a step back in time, with just a little fairy dust thrown in for good measure. 

Here are the photos we took of Alberobello and the trulli: