Apulia's Alberobello and Ostuni, trulli pearls

Along Apulia's Adriatic coastline, the white city of Ostuni can never pass unnoticed thanks to the unmistakable sheen of her white buildings. Set in the province of Brindisi, Ostuni reached the peak of its splendour under the Aragon reign, her sharpest decline under the Hapsburgs, and a rebirth with the Bourbons.

Like so many Italian towns, Ostuni was also struck by the terrible scourge of the plague. A dramatic event, certainly, but without which Ostuni would not be as bright as it is today. An old remedy was used to avoid the spread of the plague's epidemic. This consisted of painting the town dwellings with lime, in those days effectively used as a natural disinfectant.

The town of Ostuni in the 21st century, perhaps framed by the springtime pink of almond trees, transmits an unusual emotion, almost as if a city suspended between sky and earth, so beautiful as to appear impalpable.
Note the numerous manor farms stationed in the surrounding country that today reveal the shift in the economy of this area of Apulia. This type of fortified farm, once used only by the farmers and servants of upper-class families, has today been cleverly transformed into receptive tourist accommodation.

Following the roads from Ostuni into the province of Bari, Alberobello is another bizarre example of Puglia's architecture. The trulli, the typical houses of the high plains of Murgia, are famous not only for their characteristic shape but also because they were strangely built and demolished only to be rebuilt and demolished a myriad more times. Craziness? No, the explanation resides in the ever problematic payment of taxes.

The trulli were farmers' dwellings where, to get around the fiscal impositions of rich property owners, workers invented a strategy to quickly hide their very home. Some were so good at the task they were able to collapse a trullo by moving just a single stone.