History and Sights of Alberobello

In 1797 Alberobello became free of the rule of the lords of Conversano by decree of the Bourbon king Ferdinand, following representations from the townspeople.

The D'Amore House, just off the Piazza del Popolo, was built immediately after the liberation of the town, and celebrated the removal of the Conversano counts' prohibition on building with mortar.

The monumental hillslope areas of the Rione Monti and the Aia Piccola are however much older. And it's these two areas of narrow streets lined with trullo houses that brought the town its World Heritage designation.

Today many visitors come to view the unique spectacle of a town quarter composed entirely of trulli. It's true that the Rione Monti has its share of tourist shops amongst the 1000 or so trulli, but it is hard for anything to detract from the charm and oddity of the place. The unspoilt Aia Piccola, its name - threshing yard - recalling a farming past use of the area, has about 400 trulli and is composed entirely of private houses still in use today as town dwellings.

Above the Rione Monti is the Trullo Church of Saint Anthony. This is a tall and impressive building constructed due to the efforts of a local priest, Antonio Lippolis, to counteract the spread of Protestantism in the town.

The main church of the town, however, is in the "new" town, although this doesn't mean the area is composed of modern buildings. On the contrary, there are many old trullo houses around the church and the town centre. These include the beautiful Trullo Sovrano, or Sovereign Trullo, built in the late 1700s. It is celebrated as a two-floor trullo, and contains a large number of rooms. It is used for exhibitions as well as being a visitor attraction, and in summer provides the backdrop for outdoor evening concerts.

The Basilica sanctuary church itself was built from 1885, and covered the site of the shrine to the Town's two patron saints, Cosma and Damiano. In autumn it is the centre of pilgrimage from other Apulian towns.

The Museo del Territorio is another maze of interconnected trulli, some dating from the 17th century, and is used for art exhibitions in summer.