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The Trulli of Alberobello – Living like Locals In Puglia, Italy. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

The Trulli of Alberobello – Living like Locals In Puglia

Italians joke that in Italy tax evasion, not soccer (football), is the number one national sport – a quarter of the Italian economy apparently avoids paying taxes. So it wasn’t so surprising to find out that Puglia’s trulli, the traditional, white, conical houses that dot the Puglian countryside, were a product of this pervasive practice. But as we also learned, the enchanting trulli have an imperceptible quality that’s impossible to place a value upon.

It was on an amble around the fairy-tale town of Alberobello with Anna, a local guide from the area, and Maria, the caretaker of our trullo, that we learned about the inimitably Italian history of these particularly Puglian dwellings. Although there are a few theories floating around about the origin of the unique architectural design…

The Trulli of Alberobello – Living like Locals In Puglia, Italy. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Josep, an old farmer we met who lives in a rustic antique trullo with a yard full of chickens and dogs, surrounded by fields blanketed with wildflowers, says that the trulli were an ingenious idea of the people themselves. Josep believes that the Puglian people, who were meant to pay taxes on their residences, moulded the clever dry wall structure into a shape “that was something, but not a house,” so that the buildings could quickly be dismantled if the King sent tax inspectors their way.

According to Anna, it was the rulers of Alberobello, the Counts of Conversano, who ordered the people build trulli from dry stone and in a conical shape so that the Counts could avoid paying taxes on the buildings on their land to the King of Naples. Their thinking was that, if discovered, their strange form might conceal their use as residences, while the lack of mortar and conical shape meant that they could quickly be destroyed.

In the late 15th century, when the trulli were first built, it was unlikely that they’d be discovered, as the Counts were only just beginning to populate the area with people from the forests who they had recruited to cultivate the untamed land. However, once people moved in from other villages, and the population increased, and the agriculturally rich region became known, the King decided to send in a team of investigators. Locals believe that the Count found out about the King’s plans in the knick of time and had all the trulli knocked down.

The Trulli of Alberobello – Living like Locals In Puglia, Italy. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

By the 17th century, somewhat invisible and unprotected by their feudal lords, the locals were no longer happy with their lot – and can you blame them? – so when King Ferdinando IV passed through in 1797, they asked him to assess their situation. He did and he made Alberobello a Royal Town, and one eligible to access certain benefits, and from that time onwards, more permanent trulli were built with mortar and lime.

In Rione Aia Picola, the ‘small barnyard district’, the first area we explore on our walk, Anna explains that the tightly packed, whitewashed trulli were once inhabited by farmers. There are still some 400 trulli and 1500 residents in this not-so-everyday local neighbourhood. Here, flower pots sit prettily in the tiny window sills, lace curtains are closed to keep out curious eyes, washing lines strung between trulli sag with clothes fragrant with soap powder, and we hear the occasional television set blaring inside.

Anna reveals that some trulli aren’t permanently inhabited. As the size of families grew, along with their affluence, people temporarily move into larger homes in the main part of town, maintaining their medieval trullo for when friends visit, for weekends away, to rent to tourists, or for a more permanent move come retirement.

 

One old man we meet in this quaint neighbourhood, now well and truly retired, spends his days at his tidy little trullo, returning to his conventional home and family in the evenings. His small kitchenette is bare except for a kettle to make tea, a few provisions for snacks, and a cat and her newborn kittens in a cardboard box to keep him company. He keeps the trullo door open and when he’s not welcoming tourists for a chat and look around, he spends his time watching television. He says he much prefers living in his trullo to his modern home and plans to move back permanently soon.

We wander through the heart of Alberobello, across the attractive square and behind the town’s splendid cathedral, to see the Trulli Sovrano or Sovereign Trulli, the most impressive structure in town, and the town’s only trullo with two storeys. Built in the 18th century for the local priest it’s now a museum that holds religious relics.

On the gentle hill opposite the main part of town is the Rione Monti or the Mountain District, which is home to 1030 charming trulli and 3000 residents, along with a ‘Siamese trullo’ and a grand 20th century trullo-shaped church. This perfectly preserved quarter, the older of the two neighbourhoods with trulli dating back to the 16th century, is what earned Alberobello its status as a National Monument a century ago, and its designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

This is where thousands of tourists and school children pour out of buses each day, and every second trullo doubles as a souvenir shop, café, restaurant, or B&B. Washing still hangs on clotheslines but the pot plants are better tended and the trulli here obviously receive more frequent coats of paint.

While Alberobello’s trulli receive all of the attention, trulli are scattered right across the Valle d’Itria or Itria Valley of Puglia, as we see on our drive to Maria’s home for lunch and our visit to see old Josep’s home later in the afternoon. Trulli can also be found in the towns of Locorotondo, Martina Franca, Fasano, and Cisternino, and they’re used for myriad purposes: family homes, farmhouses, barns, storehouses, garages, country refuges, and of course, holiday homes. Traditionally built without cement or mortar, these days the trulli are much more solid, and many of the antique dwellings now boast modern additions and swimming pools.

The Trulli of Alberobello – Living like Locals In Puglia, Italy. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

When Alberobello was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List it was “to be protected and preserved as unique and exceptional marks of a disappeared civilization and cultural tradition, offering an example of building techniques relative to a meaningful historical moment, constituting an example of human dwelling representative of a culture”. Ironically, the trulli have hardly disappeared, with crumbling buildings being rebuilt and restored all over the countryside. In fact, living in a trullo has never been more popular.

On the drive to Maria’s, she points out which trulli are owned by locals and how old they are, which ones are foreign-owned, and which ones are being restored or built in a modern style by newlyweds, for whom living in trulli is not only fashionable but smart. Why? Trulli are eco-friendly and affordable, Maria assures us, as heating and air-conditioning are minimal compared to modern homes.

The whitewashed exteriors of the trulli reflect the sun while their thick walls keep the interiors cool in summer, reducing the need for air-conditioning. In winter the walls insulate the houses, which are heated by fireplaces, kitchen stoves, and exterior wood-fired ovens. Trulli have very few windows, and the windows they have are miniscule, to help maintain the temperature. Maria tells us she knows these things because her husband is a traditional stonemason.

While the trulli are thought to be a medieval invention, conical building techniques are ancient, their structure evolving from the primitive hut, and there’s evidence of similar buildings in Crete and Mycenae. There is also evidence at archaeological sites in Alberobello proving that the area was inhabited in the Neolithic Age and that the Cretans or Mycenaeans had migrated here as far back as the 13th century BC.

The most distinguishing feature of a trullo is its conical shape created from concentric rings of stone. The oldest trulli were cone-shaped from the ground up, although there are few of these intact, while the ‘newer’ trulli dating from the 17th century onwards had a base to support the roof. Constructed in two layers, the roof boasts an inner layer of limestone rocks and an outer layer of limestone slabs to ensure the building is watertight. While the base was traditionally painted with lime, the roof was left bare to enable the rainwater to flow off easily.

On the drive home with Maria she spots some renovation work going on at a trullo near ours, and stops to take a look. The ancient houses often had irregularly cut and placed stones, with the more ordered stones being a sign of a modern trullo, however, Maria assures us this one is indeed very old. Being something of a trullo connoisseur, she points out the fastidious placement of the bricks – and no mortar! It’s artfully designed. We’re very impressed.

Some trulli have just one conical roof and beneath it an open-plan style room, with alcoves that were traditionally used for sleeping and drawn with a curtain for privacy. In modern homes these have been expanded into proper bedrooms to meet the family’s growing needs whereas traditionally a wooden mezzanine would have been built into the largest cone for the children to sleep on or as storage space. There are also multi-roofed trulli boasting a number of rooms, such as the one Anna’s grandparents and great-grandmother live in. Interior features include arches, niches, built-in ledges, shelves, and seats, and focarili or fireplace rooms used for cooking. Outside there are usually built-in seats either side of the door, and a gutter that channels rainwater to an underground well.

The Trulli of Alberobello – Living like Locals In Puglia, Italy. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

On our stroll with Anna, she points out the pinnacles that sit atop the cones. Although the pinnacle has a structural purpose, locking the last layers of the concentric circle of stone in place, it’s decorative as well as symbolic, with different towns boasting different styles selected for their symbolism. Likewise, some roofs are painted with white symbols, such as crosses, crescents, geometric shapes, stars, astrological symbols, and even evil eyes or malocchio, and have primitive, pagan, magic, or religious meaning. The roof of Maria’s trullo, aptly, has a tree of life.

Many people believe that the trulli have magical powers. Josep explains that he bought his trullo 30 years ago when he decided to dramatically change his life, although he never does reveal what he did in his former life. Josep believes the trulli are anti-seismic and links their form to the ancient pyramids. “They have a very good energy,” he tells us, his eyes twinkling. Having now lived in a trullo ourselves, we have to agree.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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