Trulli Territory
Italy (Puglia) Stage 07 – Ostuni to Alberobello 45 Km (Tue 8 May 2018)
Weather: 13⁰C min – 21⁰C max, mainly cloudy, light rain
“You are one ride away from a good mood.” ~ Sarah Bentley
The day began well, with a freshly baked panini and cappuccino breakfast at a charming courtyard cafe in a side street away from the tourist square. Rocco arrived on time at 10 am to collect my key and retrieve my bike from the cellar. I was in good spirits when I walked my bike up the steep hill and started riding out of town. It was only when I went to look in my rear vision mirror that I noticed my helmet was missing, so I had to phone Rocco and meet him back at the apartment to get my helmet from the cellar. Then another walk up that steep hill! Oh well!
Soon I was rolling along merrily until I stopped to take a photo of one of those mushroom-shaped pine trees that are so common in Italy, and noticed with concern some mushroom-shaped clouds billowing ominously in the direction I was travelling. As I got closer the lightning became brighter and the thunder louder, so much so that I took refuge in a disused stone hut. Miraculously, though, the storm passed by.
About 4 Km further on I came to the interesting village of Locorotondo (meaning “round place”), so named because of it’s circular shape. However light rain had started to fall so I skipped the circuit of Locorotondo that I had planned, and also bypassed the next town of Martina Franca.
Unlike my previous six days of riding, which have all been on flat roads, the terrain today was undulating … good conditioning for the climb I have ahead of me in a few days when I head inland again towards Matera.
The countryside was lush and green and again the landscape was dominated by olive trees. I must have seen most of the 50 million Puglian olive trees by now!
The closer I got to Alberobello the more plentiful the trullis. Trulli are those strange looking circular or cube-shaped, stone houses, conical-roofed and whitewashed, built entirely without mortar.
Alberobello (translated literally as ‘beautiful tree’) is built on two hills: the eastern hill made up of ‘normal’ buildings; and the western one, made up of several thousand trulli. The trulli area was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 1996, even though many of these amazing stone structures are now only for tourist purposes. Like most tourists I was shaking my head in wonder at these extraordinary cone-shaped stone dwellings.
Now let the rain come down, because I am snug and warm inside my trulli house. Trulli wonderful!
The little town seems rather crowded. Fantastic photos as always.
Keep on riding??but be safe
Yes, Alberobello is a little bit touristy for my liking. Busloads of tourists come to see the trulli houses. They were even peeking in my window as if I was an exhibit.
The trulis look very quaint, outside and in. I can see why Alberobello is so popular with tourists. It’s a bit cheeky, them peering in at you, though! Trust you hammed it up for them 🙂
I poked my tongue out at her!
I wonder what was the origin of the trulli houses and why did they build them that way? Very interest photos of the trulli towns. Keep safe.
Here is the history of trullis … http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/puglia/alberobello.html
Apart from the rain and hills I really wish I were there… your writing and photos are wonderful!
You would love it Trudy. I must say it is even better than I imagined, and quite different to my other Italian tours in Tuscany, Umbria, Lombardy and Veneto. All tours have been just marvellous, which is why I keep coming back to Italy.