Saturday 10 June 2017

Olive Groves, Vineyards, and Trullis

  The Province of Bari, Puglia, is home to olive oil, wine, and dwellings called Trullis.
 Trullis are scattered all across the landscape where they serve as both simple protective shelters and places to live. You see them in olive groves and vineyards, some are farm dwellings, or domestic homes, and Trullis are now popular as holiday lets.
There origins are obscure, though the name is traditionally applied to ancient round tombs found in the Roman countryside. These little buildings are said to cope well with summers heat as well as winters cold.
The town of Alberobello with its many conical 'hobbitesque' dwellings is considered to be the Trulli capital of the area.
Many of what were once homes have been turned into shops selling specialised local produce and restaurants
The pinnacles of the conical rooftops terminate in various different styles and
some of the roofs are painted with pagan, christian, or magic symbols considered to be a protective element for the residents dwelling inside.

There is even a Trulli church although it is only 90 years old.
  Alberobello is geared up to catering for the tourists, but we enjoyed having a wander around, and purchased several packets of specialised local pasta to pop in our suitcases.

Locorotondo 
We were very happy to have an opportunity to visit the unspoilt hilltop town of Locorotondo a few miles away. There we met a young Italian wine producer who showed us around his own beautifully preserved Trulli farm and vineyard. His wife gave us a tasty buffet of local produce and we sampled some of his wines.


















This southern region of Italy is known as either Apulia or Puglia, but they actually mean one and the same thing - Apulia is the regions traditional Latin name from antiquity, Puglia its modern name.

44 comments:

  1. What curious yet lovely little buildings are the Trullis; I can see they would be cool in Summer yet retain heat for the Winter, rather like many older buildings in our tropical area were built with steep pitched roofs for similar reasons. The stonework is quite wonderful, beautifully laid and looking like it lasts forever. Thank you for showing us something so unique, Rosemary. It is an area of which I knew absolutely nothing!

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    1. They are cute little buildings and I can imagine that they were cosy during the winter months.

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  2. It looks indeed like a hobbit village there. Excellent photos!

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    1. You could readily picture a Hobbit standing in the doorway

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  3. Stunning structures and landscape, what a lovely place to visit. Thanks for sharing and warm greetings!

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  4. I would love to watch one of those being built. Those stone roofs are incredible. It doesn't look like there is any mortar.
    I hope that is a plate against a background of poppies. If not, it sure would be a nice one to have.

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    1. The roofs are built in the same way as out Cotswold stonewalls are without mortar. It is not a plate but a watercolour that I saw when visiting the vineyard - I asked if I could take a photo of it and they agreed. I turned it into black and white and then placed it on a photo of the poppyfields that surrounded the vineyard.

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  5. Dear Rosemary, I have been looking forward to seeing your photos of this picturesque region of Italy. We were told, while visiting there, that Trullis were a natural answer to clearing farm fields from the many rocks that were scattered throughout.
    Your photographs are stunning, as always.

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    1. Dear Gina - I can well imagine that as the same thing happened here with our drystone walls that now surround all of our fields.

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  6. Have never seen anything quite like it, how interesting.

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  7. Hello Rosemary, What a bizarre-looking place. I am most familiar with Apulia from its antiquities, especially the Apulian South Italian figured vases, which are well-represented in museums.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - you are correct, Apulia is one of the richest archaeological regions in all of Italy as it was colonised by Mycenaean Greeks.

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  8. Very unusual buildings. Like a more elaborate and sophisticated version of beehive cells that early Celtic hermits used to favour on remote Scottish/Irish islands like Skellig Michael. Only so many ways you can construct roofs without mortar I suppose so not really surprising the similarity in design. No wonder the tourists love them.

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    1. They also reminded us of those little drystone beehive Celtic huts Bob - we have seen them in southern Ireland and also in the south of France.

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  9. Amazing those roofs and ever so interesting to see and know what they are used for today.

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    1. I am glad that you found it interesting to see them Margaret.

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  10. Really amazing houses and ceilings. It's like a fairy tale. Never seen or heard anything like these. Your lovely photos tell a lot of them, thanks for sharing.

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    1. You could easily imagine fairies happily dancing around them.

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  11. They are fabulous, never seen or heard of them before. Is it anywhere near Matera? Visit is getting even more tempting.

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    1. If you travelled by public transport then it would not be possible - they are in different provinces. The only way is if you had your own transport, and then it could be done in approx 1½ hours.

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  12. Trullis are highly popular and sought after as homes , and quite expensive too. But aren't they just fabulous !

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    1. I did read that these cute little buildings were becoming very desirable and expensive.

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  13. Definitely new to me and just so interesting - the way of building, the history, the how-to of making them into such inviting shops etc. I would love to go there!

    Your visit to the winery sounded awesome - bet the food, and of course the wine, was delicious. Italy, I'm missing you and hope to return.
    Hugs, Mary

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    1. Dear Mary - once visited, Italy gets under your skin - what is not to love.
      Trullis are built in a very similar way to our Cotswold drystone walls, and if I was younger, then I would have got our stonewaller to build me a small trulli type building for the garden.

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  14. I've enjoyed reading about your Italian trip Rosemary all in one go! I haven't been to Apulia, but our granddaughter spent some weeks in the summer of 2015 with a friend from school whose grandparents have a beach house on the coast. She sent us a postcard when visiting Alberobello. My husband's sister is married to someone whose surname is Trulli. I've always wondered if his family originally came from Apulia and gravitated to our region of Lazio. Doing personal family history research has been patchy regarding my Italian in laws.

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    1. It would seem that if anyone was gravitating from the province of Apulia then Lazio would be the obvious next step - I expect that it must be possible to trace Italian family names in the same way as you can here.
      Glad you enjoyed the posts Linda.

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  15. Dear Rosemary - So many lovely cones! The structures made of stones piled and with the conical roofs make the fantastic landscape like a fairy tale. I understand these little buildings can cope with summer heat, but why winter cold? You really visited one of the most unique and interesting places.

    Yoko

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    1. Dear Yoko - they cope with the cold because their walls are so thick. Once they have a fire going inside or heaters the walls retain the warmth and keep the place cosy.

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  16. Those are just amazing and pleasing to the eye! I saw similar ones once in Provence.

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    1. Yes, I have seen some similar buildings in France and Ireland too. However, they were round and known as beehive buildings. They were built by celtic monks as prayer retreats.

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  17. Very very special houses! Never seen those before...interesting and beautiful!
    Have a great week Rosemary, take care.
    Titti

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    1. Thanks for visiting Titti and pleased that you liked seeing these cute little houses.

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  18. Some Dutch friends of mine are in Puglia right now, and they facedbooked a few photos - but yours, Rosemary, give me a deep impression of the beauty and dignity of that region!

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    1. It is a lovely region to visit Britta - full of history and wonderful architecture.

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  19. Dearest Rosemary,
    Such a difference in dwellings in the Puglia region.
    Lovely photos and no doubt this was a most interesting visit.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. It was a very interesting place to visit Mariette.

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  20. This area has been on our wish list for some time. It must have been wonderful to get away from the crowds and visit the Italian vineyard producer. Those buildings are so attractive. Sarah x

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    1. We loved southern Italy, and it is good to try and visit before it becomes croweded like the north.

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