Trulli

These peculiar buildings are special for the Itria Valley. The trullo is a cylindrical on-room stone house covered by a gracile, steep, conical roof, which is terminated on top by a slim spire, pinnacolo, grasping the round stone which rests on top. Enlargement of the house is done by adding a new trullo, and a dwelling can consist of a cluster of trullis connected to each other.

A trullo has thick walls. The old houses are built by formed stones without use of mortar. The roof is also piled up, and the construction is self-carrying. The walls and the roofs are only plastered by chalk on the surface. Rain-water is channelled from the roof to cisterns in the ground. The tick walls keep the houses warm in winter and cool in summer.

The origin of the trullis is an enigma. The building-technique is probably pre-historic and has probably been in continually in the area. The say the pinnacolo (the stone on top) is a symbol from pagan times, when the worshipped the sun. It is still often painted symbols on the roofs, both Christian and pagan.