i Trulli di Alberobello
Trullis are an extraordinary example of man’s ingenuity and adaptability. They demonstrate how man was able to settle even in a place where house building was forbidden except for temporary shelter and where the only building material available was stone. The trullis were the ingenious solution found by the first farmers who came to set up home in the Selva at that time.
Alberobello was founded between 1400 and 1500 by some country dwellers sent there by the Counts of Conversano who owned the land. At that time, laws were in force that obliged every new settlement to have royal approval that was obtained after the payment of certain dues. In a shrewd move, the Counts of Conversano made their farmers set up their homes in what was an oak forest at that time and only allowed them to build temporary shelters that were certainly less stable than their mortar built counterparts elsewhere. This is where the trulli first started. They were drywall buildings which made them easier to dismantle or remove in the event of a royal audit which would then find no traces of an illegal settlement. This background of temporary buildings gradually became the history of a civilisation founded on dry stones.
Alberobello is the only town in the world that took life as a town of cone-shaped, drywall trullis.
Visita ai Trulli
The inhabitants of Alberobello were able to overcome difficult conditions over time, not least of which were the matters of hygiene and sanitation. However, in the words of Tommaso Fiore they were like “a nation of ants” who were able from the very start to transform their weak points into strengths and claim their place on the World Heritage List through the uniqueness and simple beauty of their history.
The group of “temporary” settlers were not able to do anything to secure their future until they made a direct appeal to the king of Naples, Ferdinand IV, asking his intervention to allow them the right to a dignified existence. On 27 May 1797, a royal decree was signed granting freedom to Alberobello and at long last the town could look forward to a stable future. The trullis are emblematic of this story and the overcoming of poverty and have become the greatest symbols of our cultural and economic strengths. The specialised restoration techniques used that observe architectural authenticity have left the trullis perfectly liveable and as living examples of biological architecture in action. You can experience the wonder of living in one of these unique places by renting a trulli and then feeling at one with yourself by contemplating, resting and rediscovering your core energy.
The community in Alberobello have been able to keep the two quarters intact as cited in the World Heritage List declaration issued from Merida in December 1996. The two quarters of Monti and Aia Piccola together with the Trullo Sovrano, the Casa D’Amore and the Casa Pezzolla make up the site perimeter of what is generally shown on the World Heritage List as as the “Trulli di Alberobello”.
History, art and culture
Chiesa di S. Antonio
The town of Alberobello is situated on two hills riven by an ancient riverbed.
The Eastern hill is home to the modern town and the other hill towards the West is where the “trulli” are to be found. These buildings are clustered into two quarters forming an urban settlement: Monti and Aia Piccola, and are both considered National Monuments.
The “Trulli di Alberobello” were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1996.
The surrounding countryside features dense plantations of almond and olive trees that are typical in karstic areas whereas the materials used for building the trulli come from stratified limestone rocks from thereabouts.
The history of this particular settlement dates back to the latter part of the 16th century when it was a small fiefdom under the Counts of Conversano of the Acquaviva family. Farmers began to settle on the “Selva” (as it is known) and made the land fertile.
The Counts allowed drywall homes to be built so that they could be easily dismantled in the event of a royal inspection, which would entail the payment of taxes for a settlement. This strategy was a form of tax evasion.
Alberobello
In 1797, a plucky group of Alberobello residents that were fed up with their somewhat precarious position went to Taranto to seek the help of King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon.
On 27 May 1797, the king issued a royal decree granting freedom to the little village.
The trullis are built from overlapping stone slabs, known to architects as corbelled “chiancole” and form the characteristic cone shaped roofs that go towards creating this unique, wonderful town that is so much admired by visitors from all over the world.
UNESCO INSCRIPTION
Panoramica di Alberobello
The Trulli (limestone dwellings) of Alberobello
Inscription N° 787 1996 C (iii)(iv)(v)
Alberobello is situated on two hills riven by an ancient riverbed.
The Eastern hill is home to the modern town and the other hill towards the West is where the “trulli” are to be found. They are clustered together in two quarters: Monti and Aia Piccola, and are both considered National Monuments.
The “Trulli di Alberobello” were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1996.
The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property on the basis of cultural criteria (iii), (iv) and (v) considering that the site is of outstanding universal value being an exceptional example of a form of building construction deriving from prehistoric construction techniques that have survived intact and functioning into the modern world.
i Trulli di Alberobello ricoperti di neve
