by Maureen | May 27, 2011 | Alberobello, Calabria, Catanzaro, Cefalù, Food!, Incredible Locations, Introspection, Journal, Lecce, Meals, Monreale, Palermo, People, Photos, Puglia - Apulia, Shopping & Markets, Sicily, South Italy Tour, Taormina
After my first week in Milan, I toured the south of Italy for two weeks, and then have spent the subsequent week writing about it and prepping photos! (I shot 2400.) What an amazing time. I met tremendously dear people and saw rich details. Indeed, as I’ve always heard, the south of Italy is very different from the north. The people are open, warm, unguarded and very willing to engage. It was a touching time.
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I didn’t have much wifi while I was traveling, and could write but not post photos, so in order to “catch up” on the blog entries, you’ll have to scroll down and reread what you may have already read. I’ve been posting in chronological order based on my travel itinerary.
I’ve now been in 12 of Italy’s 20 regions, plus trained through 4 more!
So when you’re ready to plan your trip to Italy, talk to me. I’ll tell you where to go, who to see, where and what to eat.
by Maureen | May 14, 2011 | Alberobello, Cheese, Food!, Incredible Locations, Introspection, Journal, Meals, People, Photos, Puglia - Apulia, Shopping & Markets, South Italy Tour
Finding out about Alberobello, I itched to stay in a trullo for a couple of nights! Through an internet search, I found Charming Trulli, and dear Antonella. (“Trulli” is plural for “trullo“.) I had a long, complicated Sunday traveling up from Lecce, and finally arrived in early afternoon by train and bus. On her only day off, Antonella picked me up and took me up the hill to my little trullo, adjoining her parents’ house. We dropped my bags, then went next door for coffee and pastries with her parents, Franco and Dora, and her little daughter, Mara. What a sweet reception!
Here’s my perfect, little trullo, with a kitchen, double bed, living room and bathroom. Franco restored the trullo himself.
When I awoke the next day, Dora and I met out in their garden, and we talked about artichokes, fava beans, lilies and holly as we compared our different gardens. That evening, Antonella called me and invited me to have dinner with them at a local pizzeria. We sampled some fabulous local appetizers and we each ordered our own pizzas. Of course they just had to give me a piece of each of theirs to try, so I carried half of mine home for “train food” the next day. In the morning, a little rain falling, Franco drove me to the breakfast shop and he and I had a long philosophical conversation about life and death and living fully. He gave me a ride to the train station, and waited with me until the train came. We hugged goodbye and waved. What dear people…
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On Monday, my only full day in town, I had set the alarm for 7:00 because of forecast rain. I know from experience in Venezia that tourists usually aren’t up-and-at-em very early, and I wanted morning light and clear streets. After walking for just a few minutes, the sun came out bright and the sky was vivid blue. The white-washed trulli were brilliant. Perfect.
On the long walk up the road to the Trullo Church, I was photographing the cluster of trulli that have more symbols on their peaks than elsewhere in town. A woman was out cleaning in front of her shop and invited me in to go to her upper terrace for a broader view. I did, and when I came back down, we introduced ourselves and talked for about an hour.
Anna Maria is a weaver and runs a business through which she employs several dozen local women to produce materials to sell. I had no idea that Alberobello is know for its woven textiles! (Uh oh. Trouble.)
She showed me the traditional patterns, the table cloths and hand towels. I swooned at the fabric and had to bring a piece home with me. In her shop, she sells the woven goods, as well as hand-made, hand-painted ceramic whistles crafted by artists in the region. She gave me one of the whistles-on-a-string to wear for good luck.
Anna Maria and I had such a remarkable connection so quickly. A little later, I returned to my trullo and wrote her a note telling her that she had made my time in Alberobello a treasure. When I went back to give her the card, and read it aloud to her, she was near tears, and therefore, so was I. She said that meant more to her than any sales, and insisted that I follow her next door into her home. She dished up a delicious and heaping bowl of lentils, vegetables and pasta with fresh bread and grilled eggplant. I could NOT say “no”. (I had, though, JUST eaten lunch at a restaurant nearby.)
We talked about life and love and loss. She invited me to stay at the trullo she keeps for friends, the next time I visit. We hugged each other, looked into each other’s eyes and had a hard time saying goodbye. Wow. Touch my heart.
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Sunday, late afternoon, I was getting a little hungry while wandering around, but wasn’t ready for dinner. I stepped into a little shop selling regional food specialties AND giving taste tests: Trullo degli Antichi Sapori di Marco Maria Concetta. I sampled wine, cheese, meats and chatted with Antonio and Rosa. I tested their “Salsa di Tartufo Nero” – black truffle salsa – and snatched up 4 little jars. They nicknamed me “Maria del Tartufo” – Maureen of the Truffles. When I stopped by the next day just to say “hi”, they called me by my nickname. How funny.
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One of the days, caught in a brief cloudburst, I took my broad scarf out of my bag and wrapped it around my shoulders. An elder woman in a doorway, motioned to me that I should cover my head. I did, and she smiled.
The people of Alberobello, and the region of Puglia, were so warm and unguarded. They opened themselves to me and let me in through conversations and their generosity. They embody the heart of Italy.
by Maureen | May 14, 2011 | Alberobello, Discoveries, Incredible Locations, Journal, Photos, Puglia - Apulia, South Italy Tour
A few months ago, I heard for the first time about the “trulli” of Alberobello, in the Puglia region at “the heel of the boot” of Italy. After my initial glance at images, I knew that the town had to be added to the itinerary of my South Italy Tour. The trulli are a photographer and artist’s dream with their distinctive conical stone rooftops, whitewashed walls and occasional, broad-painted symbols.
Alberobello became the star on my list of destinations, following Palermo, Taormina, Cefalú, Catanzaro Lido and Lecce. I had traveled by train across the south of Italy, and arrived at the station in Bari, on the Adriatic coast. I then transferred to a “pullman” regional bus, and took a zig-zag ride through the countryside toward Alberobello, stopping at intriguing little towns along the way. The closer we got, the more trulli I saw. There’d be an abandoned trullo, solitary amidst olive trees and half-fallen, and clusters of trulli, adopted, maintained and fully-functioning.
I arrived in town, dropped my bags and started walking, camera-in-hand. All I wanted was one, quintessential shot, though I shot over 500 in my two days there. On my first afternoon, the sky was gray and the light was flat. Rain was forecast. Oh no! The next morning, I had set the alarm for 7:00, awoke to sunshine and set off through the still-vacant streets. The sky was brilliant blue and the buildings stark white. Oh yes! The light changed all day and we did have a spot of rain. The stormy, remnant sky provided beautiful texture with the stone.
Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has integrated its trulli with more contemporary structures, and therefore, has its contrasts: rounded, organic stone walls set against baroque cathedral spires, power lines and apartment buildings. As with any of the world’s favorite places that are “loved too much”, there are the main routes through town, lined with vendors selling tailor-made souvenirs and making a euro off the tourists, small compensation for the inundation they suffer. But I didn’t encounter any disdain or indifference from the shop-owners and local folks. Instead, I met some very dear people of Alberobello, open-hearted, kind and generous.
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From Wikipedia’s entry:
“A trullo (plural, trulli) is a traditional Apulian stone dwelling with a conical roof. The style of construction is specific to Itria Valley, in the Murge area of the Italian region of Apulia. Trulli were generally constructed as dwellings or storehouses. Traditionally they were built without any cement or mortar, thus avoiding taxation.
“The roofs are constructed in two layers: an inner layer of limestone boulders, capped by a keystone, and an outer layer of limestone slabs ensuring that the structure is watertight. Originally, the conical structure would have been built directly on the ground, but most of the surviving structures are based on perimeter walls. In Alberobello atop a trullo’s cone there is normally a pinnacle, that may be one of many designs, chosen for symbolism. Additionally, the cone itself may have a symbol painted on it.
“The walls are very thick, providing a cool environment in hot weather and insulating against the cold in the winter. The vast majority of trulli have one room under each conical roof: a multiroomed trullo house has many cones representing a room each.
“There are many theories behind the origin of the design. One of the more popular theories is that due to high taxation on property the people of Puglia created dry wall constructions so that they could be dismantled when inspectors were in the area.
“…Anyone wishing to restore a trullo needs to conform with many regulations as trulli are protected under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage law.”
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