Yours Trulli Ostuni

One thing I never expected was the frequency the other guests got together for evenings. Even more surprising at first was how welcome they made us feel to join them. Everyone decided on what to bring to make a big party almost every second night. Food, wine and song went on from 8 until 1am, which was good because we were always fresh for the next day. In general we always had something easy to bring because locals and Italian holiday makers there seemed to be able to source the wine or ingredients a lot better and cheaper than we could.
The quality of cooking among the group was always amazing. There was a chap, a policeman from Ravenna in the north that used to be a pizza maker in Naples, not only was it fun to watch him spin the pizza dough around, which he assured me is not necessary, “this is for the tourists” he would say, but the taste was trulli amazing. After the meal there would be a sing song that would include traditional music and everyone joined in.

training session

Preparation

End Product

Later

What is a Trullo? It’s a Building. It is the traditional house of the Puglia region of Italy. It is similar to a cottage but with a cylindrical body and a cone shaped stone roof. All made from local abundant stone, the walls can be a few meters thick. In this way they keep the heat out in the summer and the heat in, in the winter, in the same way a cave does.
Each room usually has its own cone, and small side cones or half cones may cover a bedroom, that generally has enough room to accommodate one bed. The bedrooms, or alcoves with beds, are often covered by a curtain which can provide a very romantic appearance.

There are many theories on why they were built like this, one is that they were built in a drystone way, so they could be demolished if the property tax collector was in the region, and then rebuilt when he leaves. Fantastic idea, but highly impractical. Most peasants in the 15th 16th 17th 18th and early 19th centuries in this region, particularly the Itria Valley of Puglia, lived in a trullo. In one way building in stone was practical because it was in such abundance, but there is evidence of trulli through the centuries from Israel to the Skellig Island of county Kerry in Ireland. Maybe migrating people carried the skill of building in this way with them, or the absence of other materials was the mother of the invention.

There are different styles of trullo, or in other words they can appear different depending on their finish. Here are some examples:

Dry Stone Trullo

Plastered Trullo

Plastered Trullo Stone Roof with Pinnacle

Lamia, trullo with a dome roof

There is a thriving business in restoring trulli for holiday homes or even to live in. Many locals that live in the town of Ostuni for example, have a trullo just outside in the country, where they spend their summers and autumns tending the land, picking the fruit, the nuts, olives etc. Italians and overseas buyers use them as holiday homes, and in some cases building swimming pools, to add some luxury to the property. There are some foreigners that live in a trullo all year round, reaping the benefits of a tranquil life, short winter and a long summer.
A renovated Trullo, or trulli (plural) can have all the modern facilities like kitchen, bathroom, electricity and central heating. Renting a trullo for a holiday is a unique experience and with fantastic weather from May to October, they can be inexpensive out of high season.

So wish i was in Bari to watch Italy Vs Ireland. I can’t believe i holiday just down the road in Ostuni and my passion for both teams, hasn’t dragged me there. Can’t help feeling like an Irish win is all i want out of this; Go on ye boys in green!!
Probably got the best result i could expect. Best of all was the way the lads in green played. It takes us to go a goal behind to start playing. Looks like our fans had a good time there. Some of the Italians from there would have prefered a different ref from what they were saying to me. Roll on Croke Park.