Our first port of call was Bari which is is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia (or, in Italian, Puglia) region, on the Adriatic sea, in Italy. After a quick breakfast, we dashed off to meet our Tour leader for our morning tour. There was only a small group of us going and we walked out of the harbour area, to find our bus which arrived about 15 minutes later. We all climbed in and set off for the town of Alberobello. We drove through Bari which is a University city and then got onto a highway which would take us to our destination. We travelled for an hour before reaching Alberobello which is a town full of Trulli houses. Our Italian tour leader was telling us all about these houses but with my limited German, could not really understand it all. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in this quaint village. These gleaming houses (whitewashed each year) are curious, rounded structures with gray, stone, cone-shaped roofs. They are trulli, common in the province of Bari and Taranto, yet unknown in the rest of the world. The town's historical center is on a hilltop, amid the scent of almond and olive trees, and has been declared an International Human Resource by UNESCO. It is made up of a hundred trulli some 5 centuries old. The origin of their oddly-shaped, stone teepee design is unknown. Although some theories date the Trulli back 5000 years, the favorite story of their creation claims that such buildings were first constructed during the Middle Ages. At the time, anyone who built a dwelling on the King's land was heavily taxed. With this in mind, the Pugliesi cleverly devised the drywall stone Trulli solely for purposes of tax evasion. As the story goes, upon word of the taxman's arrival (perhaps by means of a smoke signal), the Trulli were rapidly dismantled and moved out of sight. After the visit was over and that gentleman successfully ducked, the homes were re-erected. Nowadays, Trulli are firmly planted and buttressed with stucco. A cone still comprises a single common area and the interiors, though charming, are spartan. With the exception of bathroom doors, the rooms are separated by colorful curtains in sharp contrast to the stark whiteness of the interior walls Mostly handmade furnishing of olive wood, quite beautiful by any standard, are representative of the work of the traditional peasant artisans of the area. The hearth remains the source of heat to this day. Luckily, Puglia is fairly warm and the cool stone Trulli provide relief from the hot summer sun. In spite of its rustic simplicity, the prices here are a bargain (Puglia as a whole is a bargain compared to most of Italy). Alberobello, the Trulli capital, is a fairy-tale city. Fanciful hex signs adorning each home add magic to the already bewitching setting. A wealth of history, art, food and vistas, rivaling anything in Italy, is found here.
On our way back to the ship, our tour guide decided that we had to see the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari. So, we parked on the promenade and took a quick walk to the Basilica. A beautiful building both inside and out. After some quick photo taking etc., we were then dropped off, close to the gangway onto the ship.
We then headed off to have a late lunch.
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