• Home
  • About me/Chi sono
  • Contact

Un po' di pepe

~ …… (oon∙poh∙dee∙PEH∙peh) Cristina writes about interesting stuff /Cristina scrive di cose interessanti

Un po' di pepe

Tag Archives: Rione Aja Piccola

I Trulli di Alberobello

24 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italia, Photography, Puglia, Travel

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

Alberobello, Architecture, Bandiera Arancione, Italian history, Italy travel tips, Puglia, Rione Aja Piccola, Rione Monti, Southern Italy, Trulli, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Val d'Itria, Vernacular architecture, Zona dei Trulli

TrulliecielobluAs the car nears Alberobello, trulli (TROOL•lee) start to appear in the rural landscape and my imagination goes into overtime.  I hear the tune ‘La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la’ in my head and I expect i Puffi (the Smurfs) to start dancing around the whitewashed trulli! Too much midday Pugliese sun maybe?  Trulli are traditional limestone houses unique to the Val d’Itria in Southern Puglia.  They were built ‘a secco’, which means dry-without mortar.  Trulli have domed cone-shaped roofs built up of overlapping chiancharelle (kyan•ka•REL•leh)-grey limestone slabs.  On the capstone at the top is a decorative pinnacolo (pinnacle).  The shape of the pinnacolo is said to be a signature of the stonemason who built it.  Some roofs also have mythologic or religious symbols painted on them.

Alberobellostrada‘La Zona dei Trulli’ includes the areas around Locorotondo, Fasano, Cisternino, Martina Franca, Ceglie Massapica and the largest concentration of 1,620 trulli in Alberobello.  Alberobello and its trulli are aUNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO believes Alberobello is an exceptional example of the survival of prehistoric building techniques that are still in use. The fact that the buildings are so well-preserved and still occupied make the site unique.Alberobellobiancheria

The word trullo comes from tholos (τρούλος) a variation of the Greek word for cupola or dome. There were already scattered trulli settlements in the Val d’Itria around the year 1000.  These gradually grew into villages, later called Aja Piccola and Monti-the 2 trulli districts in Alberobello today. The oldest trulli we know of date back to about 1350 when the Counts Acquaviva of Conversano were given land for their service during the Crusades and colonized the area by moving people from their nearby areas.Alberobellostrada2

Tradition has it that building ‘a secco’ was imposed on the settlers so their houses could be dismantled quickly and easily. At first this was so the Count could easily dispossess villagers of their homes. Later it was a way to evade taxation imposed on each new construction by the King of Napoli. Trulli could be dismantled when the tax collector came by for an inspection, and then reconstructed just as quickly when he left. Trulli came to be known as temporary, unstable field shelters that were not worth taxing.

Trullo Siamese.  2 brothers in love with the same woman lived here.  They split it in half and the single brother installed a door into the lane.

Trullo Siamese. 2 brothers in love with the same woman lived here. They split it in half and the single brother installed a door into the lane.

In reality, trulli are anything but unstable or primitive. They are built directly on the underlying natural rock and their internal structure is very durable. The thick double walls keep the trullo warm in winter and cool in summer. There are systems for collecting rainwater using eaves projecting at the base of the roof diverting water through a channelled slab into a cistern underneath the trullo. Some trullo homes are made up of groups of 2- 5 trulli.  Most historians agree that the building technique for trulli came about due to the area’s geographical conditions and abundance of limestone. The quickie evictions and tax evasion scam came later.trulliombra

In the early 1600’s there was a group of about 40 trulli in Rione Monti (Monti District) then settlement and trullo construction really expanded with the addition of a bakery, mill, tavern and butcher shop.   In 1797 the feudal rule of the Acquaviva family ended when Ferdinand IV, King of Napoli proclaimed the community a ‘citta regia’, or royal town.  Alberobello took its name from silva arboris belli, the Latin name for the region.

Inner-city trulli?

Inner-city trulli?

Today Rione Monti has 1,030 trulli and Rione Aja Piccola has 590 trulli, many of which are still inhabited as homes by some of Alberobello’s 11,000 residents.  You can also find the trullo church of Sant’Antonio di Padova, trullo souvenir shops and ristoranti, and a trullo hotel.  In the surrounding countryside there are many trullo masserie (farmhouses) that can be rented.

Exterior of a single trullo and interior of a trullo photo and art gallery

Exterior of a single trullo and interior of a trullo photo and art gallery

In 2010 along with Orsara di Puglia, Alberobello was distinguished with a Bandiera Arancione (orange flag) designation, a seal of quality from the Touring Club Italiano.  Alberobello can be accessed by train or bus from Bari. Although Alberobello is quite ‘touristy’, it still retains its charm and is definitely worth a visit.  If you can brave the mid-day sun in the summer, the cast shadows against whitewashed walls are an artist’s and photographer’s dream….but if you start dreaming about i Puffi, you had better go find some shade!

Alberobello souvenirs.  A linen towel and my very own very cute trullo.  I bought it the first time I visited Alberobello.  It's made of real limestone and chiancharelle.

Alberobello souvenirs. A linen towel and my very own very cute trullo. I bought it the first time I visited Alberobello. It’s made of real limestone and chiancharelle.

Not all of the buildings in Alberobello are trulli

Not all of the buildings in Alberobello are trulli

alberobelloombra

Ciao, Cristina

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email address to follow 'un po' di pepe' and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 458 other followers

Follow Un po' di pepe on WordPress.com

Popular Posts

  • La Brigantessa~Book Review
    La Brigantessa~Book Review
  • Grano Arso
    Grano Arso
  • Polignano a Mare
    Polignano a Mare
  • Hairstyling in Ancient Roma
    Hairstyling in Ancient Roma
  • The Last Medici
    The Last Medici
  • Ottavo Bloghiversario
    Ottavo Bloghiversario
  • ‘Il Gigante’- Michelangelo's David
    ‘Il Gigante’- Michelangelo's David

Recent Posts

  • Ottavo Bloghiversario
  • 2 years of Covid-19
  • Giornata della Donna~Mariya Prymachenko
  • Festival di Sanremo
  • 2021~ Un po’ di pepe year in review
  • Italian Christmas Vocabulary
  • 100 years of Insulin
  • Italiese
  • Marostica~Partita a Scacchi
  • In my Kitchen-Summer 2021
  • Reflections from a COVID immunizer
  • Recent Successes for Italia
  • Internment of Italian Canadians
  • Settebello-Bloghiversario #7
  • Tiramisù
  • Percorso della Memoria
  • Ravioli Rossi
  • 700 Years of Dante
  • Buon Anno 2021
  • Reflecting on 2020
  • Panforte di Siena
  • Museo Faggiano
  • World Pasta Day
  • MOSE
  • Lecce

Categories

Amici e Famiglia Architecture Art Art history Art projects Bilingual posts Blogging Canada Culture Feste Firenze Inspiration Italia Italian Folklore Italian language Italian life Italocanadesi Libri Mangiamo! Orsara di Puglia Parole piacevoli Photography Puglia Recipes Roma Travel Travel tips Uncategorized Vino

Un po' di pepe on Instagram

When the ricotta is about to expire and you don’t feel like making ravioli-ricotta gnoccchi! @bellacibo I used your spianatoia! #ricottagnocchi #cookingwithricotta #gnocchidiricotta #pastafattaincasa #pasta #pastalover #fbcigers #unpodipepe
Buon compleanno Roma!2775 years young. Miss you! Read about ‘ Natale di Roma’ in blog archives #roma #natalediroma #birthofrome #romulusandremus #igersroma #unpodipepe
Tea at the Chateau Laurier #chateaulaurier #ottawa #fairmonthotels #unpodipepe
Parliament buildings #ottawa #canada #parliamentbuilding #canadianparliament #unpodipepe
Printmaking at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival @vancherryblossomfest with @travellingbrush and @phoenixartworkshop #vancouvercherryblossomfestival #printmaking #linocut #cherryblossoms #reliefprinting @unpodipepe
Getting ready for the Japanese cherry blossom festival on Saturday @vancherryblossomfest with @travellingbrush #cherryblossom #japanesecherryblossom #vancouvercherryblossomfestival #printmaking #linocut #linoprint #unpodipepe
Happy International Tiramisù day- otherwise known as every day! History and recipe in blog archives. Buon appetito 😋 #tiramisu #tiramisù #dolciitaliani #dolcifattiincasa #sambuca #tiramisuday #cucinaveneta #mascarpone #unpodipepe
‘A dove has spread her wings and asks for peace’ by Ukrainian folk artist Mariya Prymachenko. More in new blog post. Link in bio. Happy International Women’s Day everyone! #giornarainternazionaledelladonna #internationalwomensday #peaceforukraine #mariyaprymachenko #peace #womenartists #unpodipepe
Crustoli per carnevale…or do you call them crostoli…chiacchiere…cenci…bugie…frappe…sfrappole… Link to post and recipe in bio #carnevale #crustoli #chiacchiere #chiacchieredicarnevale #cenci #frappe #crostoli #dolciitaliani #dolcipercarnevale #lent #unpodipepe

Archives

Un po’ di pepe on Facebook

Un po’ di pepe on Facebook

Start a Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Un po' di pepe
    • Join 458 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Un po' di pepe
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: