Is Alberobello Worth Visiting? Discover Puglia’s Trulli Town

This page contains affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Alberobello is the best place to see Puglia’s most iconic image—trulli, unique huts with conical roofs found scattered amongst the olive groves all over the Valle d’Itria in southern Italy.

These strange limestone dwellings look like somewhere a hobbit might reside and there’s nothing else like them anywhere in the world.

Contents

What are Puglian Trulli?

Trulli are conical stone huts built using drywall construction, a prehistoric building technique that is still used in the region today.

Instead of using mortar the stones are layered on top of each other. Puglia is made of limestone bedrock so it was easy to find building materials—the boulders were collected from fields.

Trulli roof
The trulli roofs are constructed without mortar

The origins of the trulli are debatable but one of the beliefs is that they were an elaborate form of tax evasion.

In the mid 14th century the Count of Conversano was given some uninhabited land as a reward for his services in the Crusades. He colonised the land, bringing in peasants from other areas and allowing them to build these simple stone huts.

The Count didn’t want the authorities to know that a village existed here so he could avoid paying taxes. If anyone came to investigate, the villagers would remove the key stone, the trulli would collapse and they’d flee to the surrounding countryside.

It would take them six months to rebuild again. This crazy practice continued for 300 years until 1797 when it became an official town.

Trullo, Alberobello

You can find trulli all over the countryside in various states of disrepair, some derelict and beginning to be absorbed back into the limestone earth, others restored to their former glory and now used to house tourists.

Back to Contents

Visiting the Trulli Town of Alberobello

The biggest concentration of trulli is in Alberobello, a whole town made of 1500 trulli and a UNESCO world heritage site.

Alberobello trulli
View of Alberobello

Alberobello is Puglia’s most touristy town and many of the trulli are now souvenir shops selling miniature trulli and local produce, but it’s still an enchanting place.

We skipped Alberobello on our first trip to Puglia as we’d heard it was too touristy, but on our second visit we enjoyed spending a few hours exploring the unique houses. 

I wouldn’t really want to stay in the town (I prefer the surrounding countryside and less touristy Puglia towns), but it’s definitely worth doing a half day trip to Alberobello. 

Alberobello trulli, Puglia
Alberobello trulli, Puglia
Alberobello trulli roof, Puglia
Alberobello trulli, Puglia

There’s even a trullo church San Antonio.

Trullo Church San Antionio, Alberobello

Back to Contents

The Best Part of Alberobello

To avoid the crowds cross over to the Aia Piccola area where trulli are still used as real homes and the streets are tourist free.

Aia Piccola, Alberobello, Puglia
Aia Piccola, Alberobello, Puglia
Aia Piccola, Alberobello, Puglia

Back to Contents

Staying in a Trullo in Puglia

In Alberobello

Staying in a trullo is a unique experience. If you’d like to stay in one in Alberobello, Tipico Resort has a range of lovely trulli all over the town and gets excellent reviews.

In the Valle d’Itria Countryside

We stayed in a trullo at Masseria Ferri, a working farm in the countryside between Martina Franca and Ostuni about 25 minutes from Alberobello. 

Our cute trullo stayed wonderfully cool in the summer heat, the family that runs the place is very welcoming, and the food was superb. There’s now a pool too. 

Masseria Ferri trulli
Our trullo at Masseria Ferri
Masseria Ferri trulli

I also recommend the two-bedroomed trulli at Trullo Dei Messapi near Ceglie Messapica, a 35-minute drive from Alberobello. There are three houses on the beautiful property with a large pool, jacuzzi and lots of flowers and trees. 

We stayed in one of the one-bedroomed stone cottages but the larger trulli would be ideal for a group. 

It’s a peaceful area full of trulli and the owners are very welcoming—they brought us fresh bread every morning and provided homemade cake and fruit from the property for breakfast. 

Two bedroom trulli at Trullo dei Messapi in Ceglie Messapica, Puglia, Italy
Two bedroom trulli at Trullo dei Messapi

Back to Contents

Is Alberobello Worth Visiting?

Yes, Alberobello is worth visiting. I don’t recommend staying there or going too far out of your way to visit, but don’t miss seeing the unique trulli both in Alberobello and amongst the olive trees in the Valle d’Itria countryside.

The trulli are one of the things that make Puglia so special.

Back to Contents

More Puglia Posts

Read our other Puglia blog posts to help you plan your trip to the region:

General Puglia Tips

Central and Northern Puglia

Salento Peninsula

6 Comments

  1. I want to visit in the near furure. My mom and dad were born in Chieti and St Bono
    and came to the United States in 1920.

    Reply ↓

  2. You’ve really captured the trulli of Alberobello so well and I can tell that the town – and the area of Puglia – really left an impression on the both of you.

    We’re glad you liked it, and we both glad to have met you there too :)

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Required fields are marked *. Your email address will not be published. By clicking the Submit button, you give consent for us to store your information for the purposes of displaying your comment and you accept the terms of our Privacy Policy.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.