A visit to “trulli-ville”.

Alberobello was first mentioned in the early 16th century when just 40 families were granted land to farm in the area. The small trulli are build with dry stone without the use of mortar, which means that they are easily removable. Building the houses of dry stone was a requirement of Count Giangirolamo II as in this way it was avoidable to pay taxes on them. Prior to the government authorities came to visit, then the house would be dismantled in a hurry and then he didn’t have to pay town taxes. Voila.

Some of the trulli has decorated roof tops which the inhabitants meant protected them from evil spirits.

In Alberobello there are more than 1000 trulli in the old part of the town and the area is UNESCO protected since 1996.

A great tip (that goes for any tourist site visit) is to come early – before the busses arrives – we almost always do. Then we avoid all the crazy hustle and bustle of huge amounts of other guests. Also since we are visiting in July, we avoid the hottest hours of the day by coming early. Today the temperature went up to 34 degrees.

The area can easily be covered during a couple of hours and is a “must-see” when in Puglia.

http://www.italia.it/en/discover-italy/apulia/poi/the-history-of-alberobellos-trulli.html