Alberobello

The charming town of Alberobello is undoubtedly best known for its 'trulli'. These are unusual white-washed limestone houses, built in a style and using techniques that date back to prehistoric times. These often circular buildings have a few tiny windows and cone-shaped roofs formed from spirals of limestone slabs. Boasting more than 1,400 of these quirky trulli, Alberobello is the trullo capital, and as such it looks unlike any other town in Europe. The majority of the buildings standing in the town today were constructed in the 18th century. This is because throughout the ages, a number of these were quickly dismantled and easily rebuilt, allowing the occupiers to evade tax collectors when word spread of their imminent arrival.

Trulli exceptional
In 1996, Alberobello was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, in recognition of its cultural significance. Nowadays many of the trulli have been converted into galleries, or craft shops and cafés with rooftop panoramas. Most of these buildings are single storey, but there are a few larger trulli, and one of the largest is actually the parish church!