In the south of Italy, on the Adriatic coast, there is a small fabulous town of Alberobello. Its name comes from the Latin words “arbor” and “bellum”, which are translated as “tree” and “war”. In ancient times, oak groves grew on this place, used for the production of reliable military mechanisms. Today, arriving in this city in the province of Bari, you can buy not only a mandatory southern Italian tan, but also a lot of impressions. A trip here can be an unforgettable highlight of your trip.
The unique white–stone city buildings – Trulli (trulli) brought fame to the city. What is it? Trulli are small houses with a mandatory conical roof. After all, in Greek, “trulli” is a dome ( τρούλος). Although locals like to joke that the name of their houses came from the characteristic sound “trrruul!” with which the house crumbled when removing the locking stone. Such buildings are not found anywhere else in the world and therefore, for their uniqueness, they were included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List in 1996.
Alberobello stands on two hills. Vostochny occupies a modern city with a new architecture. Its main attraction is the temple of Cosmas and Damian (Santi Cosma e Damiano) – the patrons of the city, in which fragments of their relics are kept.
The main street of this part of the city is Corso Vittorio Emanuele Avenue. Passing through the city center, it stops at the Piazza del Popolo. There are many shops and restaurants along the avenue. And you can admire the beautiful square while sitting at a table in the open air.
The western hill is almost completely occupied by blocks with Trulli buildings. One of the most popular among them is Rione Monti. It contains about a thousand different trulli. Walking along Via Monte Michele past the commercial city center, you can see the Chiesa di Sant’Antonio church, dating from the 12th century and built in the Trulli style.
The nearest settlement from which you can get to Alberobello is Bari. The train departs from the railway station every hour and costs 5 euros. Train tickets can be booked in advance online or bought on the spot. The duration of the trip will be 1.5-2 hours. From the arrival station to the city center with its attractions can be reached on foot in 15 minutes. If you plan to travel by car, then you should leave from Bari Airport. In this case, the road itself will take about an hour, and the path will run through Conversano, Locorotondo and Martina Franca. Driving through them, you can at least casually get acquainted with their sights.
The tourist season in Alberobello begins in April and ends at the end of October. At this time, numerous music festivals, concerts of famous performers, performances of theater troupes and even poetry evenings are held in the city. It is worth remembering that, as in any other place, prices in the season for everything are much higher. Therefore, it is best for tourists with a limited budget to get acquainted with the history of trulli in the off-season. This fabulous city is definitely worth spending 1-2 nights in it.