Alberobello, Italy

Ever hear of a Trulli? Me neither until I started researching our trip to Italy and discovered these interesting little hobbit like houses. The village of Alberobello has been a Unesco World Heritage site since 1996. 

Alberobello is located inland in the Puglia region and the first trullo was built in the 14th century. It was gifted to the Prince of Taranto and the King of Naples as a recognition for his services during the Crusades. 

The houses were originally built as temporary shelter for workers and animals. They were constructed without mortar, making them easy to disassemble for tax evasion. The bases are typically square with a cupola style roof. They were normally one room until the 18th century when they were "modernized". The inhabitants added water collecting systems and also started building on creating multiple connected trullos. 

The town has turned a lot of the homes into shops, restaurants, and hotels, however there are still many that are lived in by the locals!

The conical roofs are not painted but the bases are typically painted white.  Walking around the sections where the locals still lived was fun, especially when cars would come whipping around corners!! 

With the Italians love for dogs, I wasn't surprised to see these miniature trulli made into dog houses.  As if the regular trulli houses weren't already cute enough!!!

There are hundreds of trulli homes in Alberobello and also many along the countryside. 

Olive trees densely surround Alberobello.

The bucolic countryside was absolutely gorgeous to drive through with blooming wild flowers enclosed by stone walled properties.