Trullo and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) on Via Brigata Regina, Aia Piccola, Alberobello, Puglia, Italy
Alberobello in Puglia, southern Italy, hosts the biggest concentration of "trulli" in Italy, and thus the world. Although this image is more sunflower than trullo, it may be pertinent to offer a few words about these beautiful conical-roofed houses. The trulli , limestone dwellings found in the southern region of Puglia, are remarkable examples of drywall (mortarless) construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. The trulli are made of roughly worked limestone boulders collected from neighbouring fields. Characteristically, they feature pyramidal, domed or conical roofs built up of corbelled limestone slabs. Alberobello is one of the best preserved and most homogeneous urban areas of this type in Europe. Its special features, and the fact that the buildings are still occupied, make it unique. Trulli were built directly on the underlying natural rock, using exclusively the drystone technique. The walls that form the rectangular rooms are double, with rubble cores, and are pierced by small windows. Fireplaces, ovens and alcoves are recessed into the thickness of the walls. The roofs, which are also double-skinned, spring directly from the walls, simple squinches allowing the transition from the rectangular to the circular or oval sections of the roofs themselves. These are built up of successive courses of grey limestone slabs, known as chianche or chiancarelle . The roofs of the larger building terminate in a decorative pinnacle, often apotropaic in function. There are ingenious provisions for collecting rainwater using projecting eaves at the base of the roof which divert the water through a channelled slab into the cistern beneath the house. Flights of narrow stone steps give access to the roofs.
Size: 5120px × 3413px
Location: Alberobello Italy
Photo credit: © will Perrett / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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