Sightseeing in Alberobello - what to see. Complete travel guide

South Italy is a fantastic place where tourists can relax on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. This is also the location of the charming town of Alberobello. This is a small settlement that, nevertheless, is not deprived of attractions. The city’s name appeared from a combination of two words: “arbor”, which means “tree” in Latin, and “bellum” or “war”. Many years ago, there was an oak forest on the site on the modern settlement. The wood from this forest was hard and durable, so it was often used in making battle equipment.

Nowadays, guests of Alberobello feel like they are in a fairytale when they visit the city for the first time. The town has multiple houses of an unusual shape. These buildings have an original name, trulli. What is so interesting about them? The word “trulli” means a cupola. The trulli houses are stone huts with conical roofs that are not present anywhere else in the world. Trulli are unique, and this is the reason why UNESCO added them to the World Heritage List.

First mentions of this region date back to the 16th century. This is the time when peasants appeared in this part of Italy to cultivate crops. However, the feudal, who had brought these peasants, didn’t plan to pay taxes to the royal treasury. That is why poor people had to use limestone to build their houses. As peasants didn’t have anything like cement mortar, it was very easy to destroy their houses. When authorities planned to confiscate a house due to unpaid taxes, the building quickly turned into a pile of stones. This way, local dukes increased their revenues, and farmers had to build new houses continuously and destroy their previous houses once they heard about the arrival of tax collectors. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Alberobello became free of taxes in 1797. Starting from that time, local farmers started building better houses. However, not everyone believed in generosity of the king, and so people were expecting the taxes to return at any moment. This is the reason why many continued building the trulli. However, the government banned the building of these houses in 1925. Until our days, no one is allowed to raise buildings of this type. It is only allowed to repair the existing trulli.

It may seem that all trulli look alike but there are still some differences between them. Some buildings have interesting signs left by masters. The trulli with these signs are considered “male” buildings. If there is no such sign on the building, it is considered a “female” one. The cupolas are built in a different way so that there are various signs, such as Zodiac signs, religious and pagan symbols, and so on.

Alberobello is situated on the west and east hills. The east hill is the location of many notable architectural landmarks. Here, tourists should visit the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua and the Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian. The latter two saints are widely recognized as patron saints of Alberobello. Visitors can see the fragments of their relics in the basilica. While exploring the main street of the city, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, tourists will get to the beautiful main square of the town, Piazza del Popolo. This square has a unique shape. Just like the sun spreads sun rays in all directions, the gorgeous Italian square has many adjacent streets. There is a cozy open-air restaurant at the square that is a great place to relax and enjoy the surrounding beauty.

Do you want to see unique trulli buildings? If the answer is yes, head to the western hill. This is where you will find numerous quarters with these interesting houses. Rione Monti is the most popular tourist quarter. When walking among buildings, you will notice many similarities and differences between different buildings. Don’t miss this opportunity to see this fantastic place – the unusual shape of the quarter only makes it a more mysterious place. It feels like you have become a part of an interesting Italian fairytale and arrived in a magic kingdom.

Aia Piccola is another interesting district to visit. Not many tourists know about it, and this is the reason why the district is usually not very crowded. Having entered this part of the city, you will feel like making a journey to the past, back to the medieval times. Most buildings are old and were built four centuries ago. Tourists can join interesting excursions and learn more about the history of Alberobello and the appearance of the trulli. Don’t forget to visit shops in this town as they sell locally sourced products that are healthy and clean. It is even possible to see celebrities in Alberobello as many of them try to buy the trulli.

It is easy to reach Alberobello from Bari – the train to the town departs from Bari every hour. It takes approximately an hour and a half or two hours to reach Alberobello. Having arrived at the destination point, it will take roughly 15 minutes on foot to get to the center part of the town, so tourists do not need to use taxi or public transport. A pleasant walk on charming Italian streets guaranteed. Tourists also can rent a car at Bari Airport and drive to Alberobello independently – the ride will last approximately one hour.