What a great little town! Alberobello sits in the middle of Puglia surrounded by old olive and fig farms crisscrossed by low stone walls. Also in the countryside and in particular the town, are buildings called Trulli. They are made of stacked stone and have cone shaped roofs. The original ones do not have any mortar in them; they are just stacked stone. This was done in the 1400’s so that when the tax collectors came through, the people could just pull down the houses and not have to pay the tax for a roofed building. When the tax inspector was gone, they just stacked the stones back up. The newer trullo, and by newer we are talking 1700-1800, have white washed walls and spires on the top of the stacked cones. Each different spire has significance. Some mean peasants, others represent the pope, and still others signify royalty and nobility. Many of the cone roofs also have “magic” symbols painted on them for luck. They use lime to paint various symbols of the zodiac and early religious symbols. In Alberobello many of the trulli are still lived in and lots of them now have souvenir shops and restaurants; it has officially become a World Heritage site. I must have taken 200 photos in this town; it was just so amazing to see a part of the hillside covered in Trulli.
The people in Alberobello are some of the nicest that I have met. Some speak English and those that don’t have no problems working through broken Italian and hand gestures to make sure you are perfectly happy. I found the best little restaurant off the Piazza del Popolo. It only has 7 tables, the chef, a waitress, and the owner. The kitchen is open so you watch the chef make everything right there in front of you. These 3 people become my best friends while I was there. They insisted on choosing what I would eat for each course as well as the wine; they chose very well. The pasta was orecchiette with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil, and freshly made local cheese. Next came roast pork that was rubbed with salt, pepper, and olive oil, followed by local greens steamed and served with fresh lemons and salt. And finally, dolci was a fresh fruit salad with a caffe macchiato. It was by far one of my favorite dinners of my time in Italy. I also met an amazing girl who makes jewelry. Her family has lived in Alberobello for generations and has always made the “magic” symbols out of gold and silver. She took me into her trullo and explained the set up and how they used to look before being updated. She also told me about a great park, called Bosco Salva, that winds it way through ancient woods, old olive farms, and past seriously old and dilapidated trulli. I spent an entire day hiking through the park and fell in love with the olive groves. In addition to owning a vineyard in Tuscany and a villa on the sea, I want to have a Trullo in Puglia surrounded by old olive groves and the beautiful red soil.
The people in Alberobello are some of the nicest that I have met. Some speak English and those that don’t have no problems working through broken Italian and hand gestures to make sure you are perfectly happy. I found the best little restaurant off the Piazza del Popolo. It only has 7 tables, the chef, a waitress, and the owner. The kitchen is open so you watch the chef make everything right there in front of you. These 3 people become my best friends while I was there. They insisted on choosing what I would eat for each course as well as the wine; they chose very well. The pasta was orecchiette with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil, and freshly made local cheese. Next came roast pork that was rubbed with salt, pepper, and olive oil, followed by local greens steamed and served with fresh lemons and salt. And finally, dolci was a fresh fruit salad with a caffe macchiato. It was by far one of my favorite dinners of my time in Italy. I also met an amazing girl who makes jewelry. Her family has lived in Alberobello for generations and has always made the “magic” symbols out of gold and silver. She took me into her trullo and explained the set up and how they used to look before being updated. She also told me about a great park, called Bosco Salva, that winds it way through ancient woods, old olive farms, and past seriously old and dilapidated trulli. I spent an entire day hiking through the park and fell in love with the olive groves. In addition to owning a vineyard in Tuscany and a villa on the sea, I want to have a Trullo in Puglia surrounded by old olive groves and the beautiful red soil.
beautiful old olive tree
olives and vineyards. Photo taken from random pizzaria on a country road!
from same pizzaria
old trullo used to store farm equip.
old olive farm near the Bosco Salva
old trulli outside of town on the way to Bosco Salva
olive groves that produce the most delicious olives served with drinks at any cafe.
the hillside full of trulli
magical symbol on the roof
more trulli
a lived in trulli
another live in one.
pretty!
the hillside
bella!!!!
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