Alberobello

When we were in Apulia in 2002, we accidentally discovered the city of Trulli, as Alberobello is also called. Only afterwards did we learn that we had visited another UNESCO World Heritage Site (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/787). Now that we are here, we naturally want to see it again.

A Trullo, several Trulli... These are small huts built entirely of stone without mortar. They are concentrated around Alberobello. The historical reason (as often in the Middle Ages) was the desire not to have to pay money to a higher authority. Here it cost money if you wanted to establish a village. Apparently, the Trulli could be easily dismantled if an imperial control commission announced its arrival to inspect where new settlements were being built. Upon arrival, the inspectors found only half houses without roofs or unfinished walls, so this collection could not be considered a village.

To be honest, I find it hard to believe that this is really true. How many people would you need to quickly dismantle so many stones if necessary? The people had other things to do than to deal with the dismantling and construction of their huts. And where did the people keep their household items that were inside the huts? Didn't the inspectors notice over time that Alberobello always looked unfinished in different ways?

Anyway, it's quite impressive to see. The Wikipedia article on Alberobello says that the district with the Trulli has lost some of its charm due to the tourist rush. Unfortunately, we have to agree with that. On the other hand, we are also tourists who, like the thousands of others, want to see this World Heritage Site.