This time our friend Gianni takes us admiring one of the Apulia main attraction: the famous “trulli” of Alberobello.

From 1996 these characteristic buildings are listed as UNESCO world heritage site.

A bit of history:
In early 16^th century the count of Conversano, Andrea Matteo III Acquaviva of Aragon, took there some peasant families to drain and crop the land forcing them to the payment of a tithe.
The count Giangirolamo, Andrea Matteo’s successor, decided to use the abundance of local building material and began the urbanization of the area.
Since at the time was in force the “pragmatic de baronibus” law which demanded authorizations and tolls for each urban settlement, to avoid the payments, the count Giangirolamo built dry-stone houses without plaster presenting them as temporary dwellings which afterward became the “trulli”.
Now Alberobello is the only town which can boast an entire quarter composed by “trulli”, so deserving the title of cultural capital of the Itria valley.

For more info:
wikipedia: Alberobello
i trulli di alberobello

Thanks to our friend Gianni Mazzoli for his images and the permission of using them