A town filled with whitewashed gnome-like buildings with stone conical roofs is a fairy tale fantasy……or is it? This town of 11,000 inhabitants is perched on a hilltop in the Valle d’Itria in Puglia. Although most of them no longer live in the trulli (singular- trullo), they dominate the landscape in this region. There are two rione (neighborhoods), one that is replete with the souvenir and tschotke-laden trulli shops, the other a “residential” neighborhood now dominated by air B&Bs. This area was originally a wooded area that was given to a nobleman named Acquaviva in the 17th century. He dispersed parcels of land to his subjects and he had the trees cut down and encouraged the building of these unique structures of stacked stone (without mortar) that could be quickly dismantled when the king’s taxman appeared, as roofless structures could not be taxed.
Although initially not painted, the trulli characteristically are whitewashed, as the milk lime used in the process is a deterrent to mold and bacteria (especially the plague!).
The trulli have only a door and possibly a small window, but are environmentally friendly as there is an inner and an outer wall, more than a meter thick, that make them cool in summer and relatively warm in winter. Although mortar is used in their renovation, the original version is constructed only of stacked stone.
We started the morning with a walking tour with a local guide. A bike race for kids was taking place so there were 8-10 year olds riding really expensive racing bikes around our meeting place. The streets were packed on this cool and overcast Sunday. The crowd was by and large Italian but a few American voices could be heard.
As lunch time approached, the Largo at the base of the hill of touristy trulli filled with hungry tourists. We enjoyed a local meat specialty of grilled sausages and bombette ( stuffed pork kebab-like morsels), along with salad and a beer.
The rest of the afternoon has no planned itinerary so we are going to indulge in a much-needed siesta. Tonight we are returning to the same trattoria as last night for dinner.
Camino Musings 