4/30: Explore Alberobello and Locorotondo

 Our first stop today is Alberobello, the primary location of the Trulli homes. A home made with a single conical stone roof would cost about 200,000 Euros today. The art of this type of dry-stone building is being lost. There are still folks capable of making repairs, but an entirely new building may not be possible. The local area is full of limestone. The walls were built with the limestone removed from fields so they could be planted, like many other parts of the world. Some of the limestone occurs in large thin sheets and this is what is broken up and used in the roof. Larger blocks build walls and the interior lining.

This area of Italy (Puglia) is very dry. There are no lakes or rivers. There are a lot of limestone caves under the town, with water, but long ago, there was no good way to get it to the homes. The point of the conical roofs was to maximize their catchment into cisterns. Now there is a central water system sourced from an aquaduct. 

Although there is seismic activity here, the caves act as a buffer, so earthquakes have not been the problem they have been in other sections of the country.

The walls of the houses are about 3 feet thick, which keeps them warm in winter and cool in summer. There is typically only 1 bedroom, for the parents, and all the kids sleep in the loft, which also makes the ceiling of the living spaces. We were able to visit a couple homes.

The arch between the 2 travelers holds the only bed

The inner walls of the home follow the curve of the cone.

Wine jug

Ladder to the loft

Flat-topped structures were storage areas with a flat stone
to protect things.

The ladder to the top

The color of the new stone is lighter, and turns gray
as it ages.

This olive tree was a gift from Jerusalem
after WWII. The villagers worked to
protect the Jews who lived in their
community.

View of the new town where most buildings are Trulli.

We got a chance to explore on our own for a while, but my search for purchases was unsuccessful. Back on the bus, we headed to a local farmer to see how he makes cheese and to try some for lunch. Georgio has a 3-acre farm, a herd of 75 cows, some pigs, chickens, and a swan. This size farm is pretty typical. He lives on the farm with his wife and has one farmhand to help him. 

He sells his products to local people and we started in the small showroom. In addition to cheese, he also makes sausage, but that was not a topic today. He make mozzarella, burrata, and aged provolone.We took a look at the milking room, the area where the cheese is started, and the table where he finishes different types of cheese, focusing on what was called 'stretchy cheese'.

Mozzarella

Too make the stretchy cheese, he breaks the a big chunk of
cheese into smaller chunks and chills it.

He adds boiling water and cold to cool it to about 185
degrees and massages it with his hands, adding more
hot water to get the right consistency.

Then, he uses a long flat paddle to stir it into a consistent
texture.

When the texture is right, he scoops some up and stretches
it against the paddle repeatedly.

When it is ready, he can lift it to demonstrate the stretch.

At this point, he made knots and braids with the cheese.
He also opened the covered container behind his elbow
to make the burrata. He flattened a ball of cheese, scooped
in a sort of cottage cheese. and closed it up into a ball that
looked a lot like a Shanghai dumpling

Lunch was salad, bread, crackers, and several types of
his cheese. I preferred his provolone, which had a more
complex flavor than the younger cheeses.

 Back on the bus, we headed for the nearby town of Locorotondo which means "round place". It is another area with Trulli, and is quite charming.

Annunziata made sure we noticed this
small church next to a huge one, that
she shares a name with.

I have seen so much interesting pottery
on this trip. So far, I have been able to
resist the urge to bring lots of it home.

We came to a lovely park overlooking
the neighboring valley. Annunziata
pointed out this old Roman-style
element on the entry gate, which used
to represent how the many could work
together for success. It was co-opted
by Musolini and the fascists and can
no longer be introduced in any form
in Italy. 

This Trulli building was in the view from the park. There
was also a large war monument, listing the townspeople
who had fought and died in several wars.

During our walk, Annunziata suggested we might like to get an Amaro, a digestive that supposedly helps you get over your full stomach faster. It is made of a number of herbs, and had an interesting taste. If I had some, I might try mixing it with prosecco.

Several members of our group got together in the evening with some ordered snacks and wine, supplemented by various foods we had collected on the trip. It was a delightful end to an interesting day.