Trulli: A romantic place

In the small Italian town of Alberobello, located at the top of the heel of the boot, there are small white round stone homes called trulli. The trulli, while built using ancient techniques, without mortar, have only been constructed within relatively recent times, and over the years, the town has become a popular tourist destination. We arrived at dusk, and drove the crowded streets, full of well dressed Italian and Asian tourists. We had booked a night in one of the trulli, and after locating the hotel offices, two girls who spoke very good English drove us to our parked car, and then to our room. Our room had just enough space for a full sized bed and a small bathroom with a shower. The interior roof is domed to support the exterior stone slates, and had wood bean supports. Like the outside, the inside walls were of stone, painted white. Once we had settled, we ventured out into the town.

First we headed among the businesses set up among the trulli, separate from the trulli used for housing where we were staying. We found a nice looking restaurant in one, and had a very good dinner there, in a back room, where our only company was a table full of old regulars, talking over beer and wine. After we had our fill, we wandered across the street and up some steps into the newer part of town, where everything seemed to be of white marble, and one beautiful church was somewhat marred by a neon cross decoration.

We stopped into a gelateria and each got a scoop of the cheapest gelato we found in Italy. We found a bench on the plaza and listened to the cacophony of all the birds that were crammed into the few trees there, and laughed a bit over the police station, which was connected to what was essentially a donut shop.

We left early the next morning, for Matera. The small town left me with the impression of an ideal vacation retreat. It reminds me of other small towns which flourish on tourism, without being spoiled by it, like Eureka Springs in Arkansas, or Rothenburg ob de Tauber in Germany.

Castel Del Monte

The Castel del Monte is a castle of octagons. It is

visible from some distance as you approach it, as it is perched at the very top of a hill. Parking can be found downhill from the entrance that leads up the hill, in a gravel lot. There are buses that run to the site, but we were unclear as to whether these were free, or possibly for tour groups, so we walked. It is not a difficult walk, and leads gently up the slope through an open forest canopy. At the top we approached the castle on the dry and windswept hilltop which was characteristic of southern Italy. The hue of the stone almost blending into it's surrounding. The castle is an octagon, with 8 octagonal towers, and a paved octagonal courtyard. It stands at only 2 stories, but each level has very high ceilings, lending the structure an imposing height. It was build during the 1200's by Frederick II and has since been stripped of its decorations, even the marble interiors are gone. what is left is the bare stone structure. However, the original beauty of the structure can still be inferred from the beautiful stairwells, windows, and other architectural details inside the rooms.