Italy – Apulia 2004, part 3 (Alberobello)
I was very pleased with the flat I rented in Bari, mainly because of its location. The fact is that it was a bit farther from Old Bari, but it was very close to the train station as well as the coach terminals. The latter, the coaches, was important to me on the day I left Bari because I used them to get to my new destination – an incredibly charming place called Alberobello.
It was necessary for me to walk uphill a little from the coach stop, which is in the square in front of the Alberobello train station, in order to reach the flat I had rented there, but this didn’t bother me in the slightest. On the contrary, I was quite satisfied. I’m not sure what exactly caused my excellent mood. The truth is, Italy usually evokes the most beautiful possible feelings in me that I can associate with a country, which I must admit is quite abstract, but also twisted; however, it’s no less true in my case. On the other hand, I set off on this trip carrying a large backpack. It’s simply easier for me to move around with it, especially since I don’t fill it completely (it weighed about 9 kg when I measured it at the airport). The bags with wheels have their advantages, but if I have to cover a longer distance, especially on the streets, the noise they make bothers me a lot and, secondly, every time I encounter a curb or steps, I have to carry the bag in my hand, which is difficult and uncomfortable for me. Finally, I move much slower with it. So, the backpack is the right choice for me. Moreover, it was important that I didn’t mind walking at all while carrying it on my back, and I actually felt quite light, which made me especially happy.
All in all, in such a mood, I briefly stopped and took a selfie.
Alberobello is known as a place where there are a large number of houses known as trulli (the singular is "trullo" and the plural is "trulli"). These houses can be found throughout Apulia, but their concentration here in such a small area is almost unbelievable. In fact, maybe it isn’t. There is a lot of stone in Apulia and people were poor for centuries, so they used the materials that were easily accessible to them and also employed a prehistoric technique to build their houses, without using mortar. That is, the houses have what is called a drywall. The houses seen here today are mostly whitewashed, but the roofs stand out, where you can easily see the beautifully arranged stone slabs. As people became more economically prosperous, especially in the 20th century, this type of construction lost its importance, but the remaining examples have become cultural monuments. To such an extent that they are recognised and acknowledged on a global scale. In fact, the Trulli of Alberobello are on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The largest number of these houses are concentrated in two neighbourhoods – Monti and Aia Piccola – but such houses can be seen throughout the town and I noticed a few of them as I was heading towards the flat I had rented here for two days.
I had arranged with the owner when I would arrive, which was before the official check-in time, as the flat needed to be cleaned and prepared for me as the new tenant. However, this incredibly kind woman told me I could come earlier because she would be there and I could leave my things. And that’s exactly what happened – she gave me the key right away and said she would let me know when the apartment was completely ready.
I used that time to go for a nice coffee, which turned out to be a good choice since it was raining lightly for a while, so I wouldn't have gone sightseeing anyway. When the flat owner told me that it was ready, I went there to grab what I needed for my first, initial exploration of the town.
However, I had to take some photos of the apartment first. I rarely take photos of the places I stay in, because it’s usually not important, and I’m just there to sleep for a night or two. But this place was fantastic. By chance, I had rented (at quite a reasonable price) a space that could comfortably accommodate at least 3-4 people. That wasn't particularly important to me, but the beauty of the space and ultimately the fact that I was staying in one of the traditional trulli houses, was especially dear to my heart.
In the neighbourhoods of Monti and Aia Piccola, most of the houses have been adapted to meet the needs of tourists – whether they are places to stay, converted into souvenir shops, restaurants, cafes, etc. However, staying in this part of Alberobello comes at a price and it’s quite high. That’s not for me. This way, I managed to get the best of both worlds, which is a rather rare occurrence in life.
Soon, I set off for a walk and by one of the central streets, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, I reached Piazza del Popolo. As can be seen, Alberobello also has "normal" buildings, too.
Not far from this square, there is also a viewpoint offering an excellent view of the Monti neighbourhood and its trulli houses.
As I travelled around Apulia in the following days, looking through the windows of the trains that took me from place to place, I couldn't stop admiring the incredibly hardworking people of this part of Italy. I concluded that they are exceptionally industrious based on my observations of the fields. In them, you can still see pieces of stone in the soil, but they are relatively small. The larger stones have evidently been removed from the land by the hardworking people of Apulia over the centuries, so they could cultivate it. From these larger stones, they built miles and miles of fences between plots, usually with fields, olive groves and vineyards. Additionally, larger pieces of limestone were extracted from the fields and roughly shaped into stone slabs, which were used to build houses. Particularly impressive are those pyramidal, semi-circular or dome-shaped roofs made by using corbelled limestone slabs. This can also be seen in the following photograph.
But, as I’ve mentioned, such houses can be seen throughout Alberobello and I wanted to go and grab something to eat first. I left the visit to the Monti neighbourhood for a little later and now I had moved from the more modern part of the town into the Aia Piccola neighbourhood. There, I reached Casa Lippolis, which was built as a private residence at the end of the 18th century by the local archpriest Vitonofrio Lippolis.
Nearby, I found a restaurant I liked, so I sat down there. I first ordered a very tasty Limoncello Spritz, which is quite rare for me – in the sense that I usually don’t drink alcohol during the day. However, I was so wonderfully relaxed that I enjoyed being a little "naughty." After all, the flat and the room were quite close, so I wasn’t too worried. Besides, I needed to refresh myself a little.
Soon, the food arrived. For an appetizer, I had burrata. It’s a cheese typical of Apulia, made from cow's milk, as a combination of mozzarella and cream. I absolutely love it, so it was only logical that I would eat it often while here.
For the main course, I had octopus with roasted cherry tomatoes.
It was a wonderful lunch and I enjoyed every moment of it. I didn’t even mind that my head was spinning a bit. When I finished eating and gathered enough strength to get up, it was clear to me that I first needed to go to my room to rest a bit. On the way, I treated myself to a delicious ice-cream. Since I walk a lot during my travels, I have to make sure I get enough calories. That’s how I justified the current events to myself.
And so, I returned to the rented flat and rested a bit there. I couldn’t really sleep, but that wasn’t my goal; I just wanted to lie down and wait for the spinning in my head to calm down. Of course, that happened over time, so I got up, got ready and went outside for a walk.
By now, I had already found a "shortcut" from the flat I was staying in to the main street and there were more trulli houses there as well.
I headed back to the wonderful viewpoint I had been to earlier, but the views were so beautiful that I didn’t mind enjoying them again. Besides, the weather had changed a little – there were still some clouds, but there was more sunshine coming from our star that was gradually setting towards the horizon, so the colours were a bit different.
I then descended to the large square, which is marked as a park, although it is mostly a paved space. It is called Parco Largo Martelotta and the name actually comes from the street that runs through it, called Largo Martelotta. This street practically separates one hill with a more modern part of the town (including the viewpoint) and the area of the former village of Aia Piccola, where there are also trulli (about 590 of them), and another hill, Monti, which I now intended to explore. It is on this second hill that the main concentration of trulli (about 1,030) is found and I wanted mostly to stroll around there without any particular plans.
As it will turn out I mostly walked through the Monti neighbourhood, while in Aia Piccola, I only visited the outskirts. The main reason for this is that maps don't clearly show which area Aia Piccola covers and it takes quite a bit of searching to find it. In fact, Aia Piccola is simply an extension of the more modern part of the town.
In the next photo, you can see the hill and the direction in which Aia Piccola spreads, while Monti, at the moment I took this picture, is behind me and to the right.
The trulli start right from the square and there are a few main streets that gently rise uphill, connected by smaller cross streets between them. It should be noted that all the streets are winding. The visitor decides where exactly to go, as there is no formal sightseeing route. It all comes down to strolling between picturesque white houses with interesting stone roofs.
Some of the shops have signs inviting passersby and tourists to visit because they offer the opportunity to climb onto the roof, which provides a beautiful view. In this way, these shops hope to increase their sales.
I quickly came across one such place, so I climbed up to the roof. It was really nice, interesting and provided a different perspective.
Needless to say, I had to take a selfie as well!
Then, I returned to the main street and continued uphill. Soon, I ventured into some of the side alleys.
The situation in the side streets was a bit different. There, you could still see functional trulli, but they weren’t necessarily set up for tourists and I don’t remember seeing any shops there either.
On the other hand, it seemed like people really lived there, rather than everything being prepared for tourists and tailored to their needs.
It was lovely to see some picturesque detail, and that happened often, like plants in a planter by the entrance or a flowerpot in a niche that seemed to have been made just for that purpose.
When I got home and was organising my photos, I noticed that I had taken pictures of some of the trulli a couple of times – once when I first passed by them and then again when I came back down the same street. But it didn’t bother me. In fact, it only confirmed that those little houses had really caught my eye.
In one case, I really liked how the roofs were connected on one of the trulli, with a stone gutter in between to direct the water when it rains.
On some of the trulli, the roof is clearly placed and starts from the top of the walls, but on others, that’s not the case. As can be seen in the next photograph, it looks like the roof spills over the house.
I occasionally ventured into smaller alleys that were often dead ends, and then I would return to the main street and cross over to another main street through a side lane. But I did all of this without any particular order and that was exactly how it should be. At every turn, there were similar, yet different sights, and all of them were beautiful.
I came to a slightly wider main street that went uphill, Via Monte San Michele, and it was especially beautiful how the sunlight added to the charm of the space.
Although the houses were still charming and picturesque, with the disappearance of direct sunlight, everything turned into mere commercial entertainment for tourists.
And yet, here and there, you could spot various beautiful details that might serve to attract tourists, but they certainly also please the people who live or work here.
I had now climbed to the end of the street, which had turned into Via Monte Pertica, and there, across from the local park, I found a trullo-church – the Church of Saint Antonio. Here, even the church was built in the trullo style.
I went inside and took a little tour of the church. It was interesting to see the dome, which was made of stone slabs – using the same technique as the roofs of the surrounding houses.
After visiting the church, I started to head back down the street I had come from. Once again, the sun was on my side, so the colours and views were absolutely stunning.
Then, I ventured again into some other side streets, smaller and more hidden, but they were no less picturesque.
And so, I returned to the wide space between the two hills – the Parco Largo Martelotta.
However, as I passed a few streets leading up to the Monti hill, it felt like a call – I had to go back, even if just for a short while, to wander through these streets and among the beautifully picturesque trulli.
But, I didn’t stay too long. I wanted to return to the flat, which was near the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, the towers of which can be seen in the distance in the photo below.
A little later, I returned to the part of the town where I was staying and on the way, I stopped by a grocery store to buy what I needed.
Since I had a nice lunch that day, I decided to have something light and improvised for dinner. Being in Apulia, it only made sense that I wanted to have burrata again, but it would have been silly to just eat cheese. Oh, yes. It was a perfectly good and light dinner.