Alberobello: the Capital of the Trulli, a World Heritage Site
Alberobello is where Puglia’s most iconic building tradition took shape. More than a thousand trulli, pressed close together with their cones of limestone slabs (chiancarelle) and the symbols painted on their tips, form a true town within a town, recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1996. No trip to the Itria Valley is complete without a visit here.
But Alberobello needs to be approached the right way. In the summer months the two historic districts, Rione Monti and Rione Aia Piccola, can get very crowded. Our advice is to visit early in the morning, before ten, or in the late afternoon after five, when the tour groups have left and the narrow lanes between the trulli can breathe again. Or better still, outside the high season: in spring and autumn Alberobello shows a more intimate and authentic charm.
The two districts of trulli
Rione Monti, on the hill to the south, is the best-known district: more than seven hundred trulli lined up along steep little streets, many of them turned into workshops and craft shops. From the top of the district the view over the conical roofs is spectacular. The Trullo Sovrano, the largest in Alberobello with its two floors, stands just outside the district and is now a museum open to visitors.
Rione Aia Piccola, on the hill to the north, is less touristy and more residential. Here the trulli are still lived in and the atmosphere is quieter. Strolling between the two hills, crossing the modern Piazza del Popolo that separates them, is the best way to grasp the contrast between the commercial and the domestic sides of Alberobello.
The Church of Sant’Antonio, built entirely in the trullo style with a conical dome rising over fifteen metres, is the only church in the world with this architecture. It stands at the top of Rione Monti and is worth a visit for the sheer singularity of its structure alone.
Beyond the trulli
Alberobello is not just its two districts. The Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian, in neoclassical style, dominates Piazza Curri and is a pilgrimage destination on 27 September. The Museo del Territorio, housed in a group of restored trulli, tells the story of dry-stone construction and of rural life in the Itria Valley. And the Trullo Siamese, with its double door and the legend of the two brothers who fought over it, is one of the architectural curiosities of Rione Monti.
Where to eat
The centre of Alberobello has a good number of restaurants, many of them set inside the trulli themselves. The cooking follows Puglian tradition: orecchiette, fave beans and chicory, grilled meat cooked in the fornello, local cheeses. In the streets of Rione Monti you will also find artisan gelaterie and bakeries with warm focaccia. For a tasting of Puglian wines, the Cantine Albea winery is a short distance from the centre and offers cellar tours with a tasting.
How to get there
Alberobello is about 60 kilometres (one hour) from Bari airport and about 70 kilometres (one hour and fifteen minutes) from Brindisi airport. It has a railway station on the Ferrovie del Sud Est line. As for parking, the centre is a restricted traffic zone (ZTL): the most convenient parking areas are in Largo Martellotta and along Via Barsento.
Where to stay near Alberobello: our trulli
Three TrulliOnLine properties sit in the countryside around Alberobello, all about seven to eight kilometres from the centre.
Trulli in Fiore is the largest complex: it can host up to fifteen people with a shared pool, ideal for groups or events. L’Antica Dimora welcomes three to eight guests in an elegant, carefully kept setting. Trullo Erica, for four to six people, is the choice for a family or a small group looking for peace and quiet in the countryside, a short distance from the UNESCO heritage.
Alberobello and the Itria Valley
Alberobello is the natural starting point for anyone visiting the Itria Valley for the first time. Locorotondo is a quarter of an hour away, Martina Franca twenty minutes, Cisternino half an hour, Ostuni forty minutes. The Grotte di Castellana, among the most spectacular caves in Italy, are about twenty minutes to the north.
