Polignano a Mare, Alberobello, Ostuni…14 hours and nine miles of walking!

We woke up in beautiful Puglia (Apuglia), and, after a lovely breakfast and some great tips from our tri-star host, Nicolò, we were off to Polignano a Mare!

This is one of the most beautiful places on earth. There is a famous cave restaurant, overlooking the sea, but the cost is €200-500 per person, and the food is reputedly sub par. So we skipped it. On to the Centro Storico and the seafront, instead.

In this town, we meet the large bronze statue of Domenico Modugno, who wrote and sang “Volare—Nel blu dipinto di blu” —at the seafront. There are also the many written works of Pino Pascali throughout town, emblazoned upon the walls. Pascali gave up his day job and committed himself to his art (the art of the poor—writing), which includes quotes of his own and also of his favorite writers. He decorated the town with them in what is a far more refined version of graffiti.

I’ve long anticipated a Valle d’ Itria visit, to Alberobello, to see the trulli. And, indeed, they are unique and charming, and fall into two distinct categories:

1. The ghastly per-night expense to stay in a round stone building with few frills, out in the countryside, where it’s charming, or

2. Seeing them as souvenir shops.

There’s a third, I guess: Hire a tour.

I was really hoping for legitimate pockets between the tzchotske stands, and wasn’t about to pay for an overnight. I wanted a better look at the rooftop symbol markings, which was hard to do.

I talked to an elderly gentleman about this; his daughter is a shop owner. We went inside and he beckoned me up. “Posso fare un’occhio?” I asked. Can I do an eyeful (take a peek)? “Fai due occhie!” he replied—do two eyes!

I got a better, but not great look at the rooftops. I bought a little placemat in thanks for his time.

Whining aside, Alberobello is beautiful. Some trulli have been modernized, in the normal sense with running water and such, but also in that multiple trulli are linked together to offer larger living accommodations.

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The History of the Trulli:

Some scholars believe that the trulli were around as early as the 14th century. In the 15th century that they had their greatest expansion, coinciding with an edict of the Kingdom of Naples that imposed tributes (taxes) to each new urban settlement. The ingenious people conceived buildings that could be easily taken apart. When the king’s delegate was about to collect taxes, it was enough to remove the keystone and here the houses were transformed into piles of stones.

Today, trulli are still used as dwellings and are the subject of continuous studies by international engineers and architects (some of which have even tried to reproduce them elsewhere).

A brilliant example of spontaneous architecture, the trullo is built on a solid base (very thick walls) on which the heavy masonry is inserted into limestone. Ancient building techniques create a structure that, although lacking supporting elements, has extraordinary stability. The trullo is circular; the thickness of the walls and the few windows ensure an optimal thermal balance, having warmth in winter and cool in summer.

The keystone is very important, often closed by a decorative pinnacle with esoteric, spiritual or propitiatory motifs. The ledge protruding from the roof collects the rainfall in special tanks, while the external steps allowed to fill the cones (at least where it was possible) from above with straw and wheat. The building materials were poor, in fact, in the trulli there is no trace of cement; only mortar and local limestone.

A trullo can only be handled by an expert master trullaro. This ancient profession passed from father to son, until it slowly became a lost art. Today, finding a good trullaro is a difficult task but not impossible thanks to many willing young people who are rediscovering the ancient crafts.

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Rooftop symbols

As we were making our way out of Alberobello, we got a text from our friend Giuseppe Caggiano, who is from Matera. We’ll be in Matera tomorrow, and want to make reservations at his family’s restaurant. He gave us the info, then asked where we were. We told him we’re leaving Alberobello. He said we must return to Polignano a Mare for supper; there is an exquisite restaurant. By this time, Joe and I looked like vagabonds, and did not feel up to fine dining. Giuseppe suggested a casual fish place with excellent crudo. Ok! It’s on the way back, anyway! But, at only 4 pm, we had time to kill before dinner time (9:00 pm), so off to Little Greece/The White City—Ostuni! It was originally on the itinerary for tomorrow, but why the heck not today—we’re right next door.

Ostuni!

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Fortresses walls and a chaos of white-washed houses hug the hillside, at the top of which sits a stunning Gothic cathedral.

First founded by an indigenous tribe some 600 years before Christ, Ostuni has had a long and varied history. Romans > Ostrogoths> Lombards> Saracens, the Byzantines > Normans >Hohenstaufen> Angevins, and the Aragonese to the Bourbons. Traces remain of each remain, but what you’ll see today dates from between the 1400s and the 1700s.

Ostuni, nicknamed La Città Bianca, is noted for its uniformly white buildings. Really; it’s Santorini minus the caldera. But heck—we’re half a year under the watch of Mamma Etna; we don’t need any stinkin’ caldera!

The original practice of lime-washing the town served to brighten the dark, labyrinthine medieval streets. But in the 17th century it became a matter of life and death, as it was used to limit the depredations of the plague. Lime whitewash also has disinfectant properties, helping to slow the spread of disease–this was proven during the Middle Ages, lessening the spread of the Plague.

Lime is readily available in the surroundings of the city since the town itself is built upon three hills of Cretaceous limestone.

The streets today still hold Ostuni's medieval layout. The narrow back streets, little passages and flights of steps make it certain you’ll lose your bearings; a delightful problem! The highest part of the town is home to the enormous Archbishop’s palace and the 15th-century Concattedrale with its curvaceous, symmetrical façade and rose window.

The name of Ostuni, from the Greek "Astu-neon" (which means “new city”), was first used after the construction of a new town over a previous one during the I and II centuries AD. The city remained under Roman domination until the 448 AD.

The region around Ostuni has been inhabited since the Neolithic era, with Neanderthals living here over 40,000 years ago. The town itself was settled by the Messapii tribe, destroyed by Hannibal during the Punic Wars. It was rebuilt by the Greeks, its name deriving from the Greek Astynéon (“new town”).

In 1507, rule passed to Isabella, Duchess of Bari, and under her rule, Ostuni thrived during the Italian Renaissance, with an abundance of Renaissance architecture left behind.

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Ostuni is known for its doors… I have a lot of pictures of doors (more than posted here)!

I tripped and was grateful my left ankle only twisted slightly—recoverable. But both hands took the hit. The bloody pulp was no big deal, but the spreading blue mound of bruising required copious amounts of Advil!

And, upon dear Giuseppe’s suggestion, our evening brings us back to Polignano a Mare for dinner. We opted for the very casual—and bustling—pesce crudo restaurant, Pescaria:

https://www.pescaria.it/en/

I walked in, saw the specials on the chalkboard, immediately chose mine, then Joe found what he wanted, and we ordered a bottle of local wine.

Tuna crudo

Spaghettone with ricci, mussels, pepperoncino, and potato velute, topped with Adriatic shrimp crudo

WOWWWWW!!! Giuseppe never fails us!! I had the spaghettone.

After dinner, Joe suggested gelato. I’ll never say no to that! Once we finished and were walking out of the gelateria, Joe began to go in the opposite direction of the car. I soon saw why—a midnight blessing for the town’s patron saint’s day tomorrow, San Vito. It was complete with a marching band!