After a pleasant Sunday breakfast on the terrace, a friendly employee (maybe the daughter of the owner - we never found out) showed us how to turn on the air conditioning. I guess understanding how to operate modern air conditioners is a prerequisite for life in Puglia, but this otherwise tech-oriented northerner had a deal of difficulty throughout the trip.
We decided we were ready for the beach, so we drove to a beach south of Monopoli. Many of the beaches in Puglia are operated by concessionaires, who operate snack bars and rent umbrellas and lounge chairs. There was a large Sunday crowd at the beach, the atmosphere was friendly and very family-oriented. The actual beach was tiny, not much more than 20-30 yards wide. Only a few feet into the water the bottom was covered with stones and rocks that were slippery and difficult to walk on; at the extreme left of the beach there was an area where the sand extended somewhat farther into the water, everyone used this area to get into the water.
After a pleasant time at the beach we drove back to the albergo in the late afternoon, where some sort of loud party (wedding?) was going on. Instead of hanging out by the pool we decided to escape noise and drove to Alberobello, a small town famous for its trulli.
What's a trullo (singular of trulli)? A trullo is a small, conical building made of stone.
The story goes, back in the 17th century the king taxed permanent settlements. The local count (who had to pay the tax on his peasants' buildings) came up with an idea to evade this tax by having the peasants build in a way that escape the designation as "permanent". So the buildings were made of stones laid loosely upon each other - the trullo. No mortar was used.
Apparently there was once a spot inspection by the king's tax men, and the peasants duly disassembled their trulli.
Today they're built in a permanent way, but they retain the form (and the charm) of the 17th century. They remind me of hobbit houses - at least I think hobbits would enjoy living in them. They're of course dark inside; but the form and the stone used makes them warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Alberobello, on the UNESCO world cultural heritage list, has over 1000 of these.
They're concentrated in two neighborhoods, Rione Monti (very touristy but interesting) and Rione Aia Piccola (a quiet residential neighborhood). It's a fantastic sight!
We ate dinner in Alberobello at a restaurant that was praised by our travel book, but turned out to be not so hot. Oh well. The Casale was at least quiet that night.
We decided we were ready for the beach, so we drove to a beach south of Monopoli. Many of the beaches in Puglia are operated by concessionaires, who operate snack bars and rent umbrellas and lounge chairs. There was a large Sunday crowd at the beach, the atmosphere was friendly and very family-oriented. The actual beach was tiny, not much more than 20-30 yards wide. Only a few feet into the water the bottom was covered with stones and rocks that were slippery and difficult to walk on; at the extreme left of the beach there was an area where the sand extended somewhat farther into the water, everyone used this area to get into the water.
After a pleasant time at the beach we drove back to the albergo in the late afternoon, where some sort of loud party (wedding?) was going on. Instead of hanging out by the pool we decided to escape noise and drove to Alberobello, a small town famous for its trulli.
What's a trullo (singular of trulli)? A trullo is a small, conical building made of stone.
The story goes, back in the 17th century the king taxed permanent settlements. The local count (who had to pay the tax on his peasants' buildings) came up with an idea to evade this tax by having the peasants build in a way that escape the designation as "permanent". So the buildings were made of stones laid loosely upon each other - the trullo. No mortar was used.
Apparently there was once a spot inspection by the king's tax men, and the peasants duly disassembled their trulli.Today they're built in a permanent way, but they retain the form (and the charm) of the 17th century. They remind me of hobbit houses - at least I think hobbits would enjoy living in them. They're of course dark inside; but the form and the stone used makes them warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Alberobello, on the UNESCO world cultural heritage list, has over 1000 of these.
They're concentrated in two neighborhoods, Rione Monti (very touristy but interesting) and Rione Aia Piccola (a quiet residential neighborhood). It's a fantastic sight!
We ate dinner in Alberobello at a restaurant that was praised by our travel book, but turned out to be not so hot. Oh well. The Casale was at least quiet that night.
Comments