Century after century Puglia has hosted different cultures which explains the different stiles through the region. Going with car through this zone is really mesmerizing. We will not give a history lesson, but we will talk about three of the different styles that we have been meeting during this month here.
Stile Moresco, is a kind of islamic art that arrived in the Mediterranean countries between XI – and the end of XV – century. This architecture is characterized by colorful lights, mosaic tiles and round arches and cupolas.
Santa Cesaria Terme is a termal destination where we suggest you to go.
Stile Barocco, between the XVI – and XVIII – century. You can recognize this style from the beautiful decorations and details of the churches, buildings and palaces. The area of Salento was a good area where to cut the natural stones for the baroque constructions. The name of the stone is pietra Leccese.
A beautiful city where to find this architecture is Lecce.
Lecce is a super cozy city with an interesting center. Here is a lot of historical buildings mixed with modern restaurants and bars. Best is to just get lost in the alleys around, because there is a lot to get inspired about.
Duomo di Lecce
Teatro Romano and piazza Sant Oronzo
Getting lost through the “vicoli”
Next direction: Trulli di Alberobello, around two hours away from Lecce, and this time we are in Bari area. A different city, a different tradition to talk about. The most ancient trulli that still exists are from the end of XVII – century. These traditional houses were builded with local stones found at the outback in the area. They were used for temporary living during harvesting season. December six 1996 they became UNESCO world heritage site. Nowadays Alberobello attracts a lot of tourists from all over the world. We are not surprised about that.
This year was the second time for us there, first time during evening and this time during day. Our suggestion is to visit during the day if you want to take better pictures. Also because then you have time to plan other excursions around the area, like for example the caves. ( http://www.grottedicastellana.it )
BTW in Salento there is something similar to a trullo, but the name is Pajaru. Also builded by stones with no use of concrete nor structural support. Cool, right!?
At the moment this is our last post about Puglia and Salento, since next days we are going to Rome. Hopefully you have been inspired to go to this amazing region of Italy!
Arrivederci!
I’ve never seen anything like the “temporary” houses in Trulli di Alberobello before — and those caves! Thank you for showing us some treasures that most guidebooks ignore.
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