Description
The Trulli, typical limestone dwellings in Alberobello, southern Puglia, are extraordinary examples of dry stone walling with slabs, a technique dating back to prehistoric times and still used in this region. Although rural trulli are widespread throughout the Itria Valley, the highest concentration of the best-preserved examples of this architectural form is found in the town of Alberobello, with over 1500 structures in the Monti and Aja Piccola districts.
Trulli generally served as temporary shelters or as permanent homes for small landowners or agricultural workers. The trulli were built with roughly worked limestone, extracted during the excavation of underground cisterns, stones collected in the countryside and from surrounding rock outcrops. The roofs of the buildings often bear inscriptions in white ash with mythological or religious significance, and end with a decorative pinnacle intended to ward off evil influences or bad luck. Water is collected by means of gutters projecting from the base of the roof, from which it then flows through a channel into a cistern under the dwelling.
