Spring Golden Hour

Trulli Houses and Taxes

Meaning beautiful tree, the Puglia's Alberobello landscape is covered with conical homes known as "trulli".

Victoria Abbott Riccardi:

Legend has it that the mortarless construction of these huts also served a clever purpose. According to the Municipality of Alberobello, Ferdinand l, ruler of the Kingdom of Naples (1458-1494), gave the Acquaviva family a forested fiefdom – eventually called Alberobello – perhaps as a reward for fighting in the Crusades. The family let small groups settle there to till the land in exchange for certain privileges. However, since feudal lords had to pay taxes on settlements, the Acquaviva family ordered the labourers to build their shelters (trulli) with no mortar. That way, the peasants could knock down their dwellings before the king's tax collectors arrived and quickly rebuild them after they left.

Laura Stortoni-Hager:

The restored, modernized “trulli” now have bathrooms and bathroom doors, of course. The simple, sturdy furniture is generally handmade by local craftsmen, and made mostly of olive wood. The hearth is the source of heat in the winter, and for this reason there is a flue in the ceiling. Puglia is a fairly hot southern region, and in the summer the stones protect one from the hot sun. In the winter the thickness of the walls keep the warmth inside.

The “trulli” remind one of houses you see in the Greek islands, or on the Southern Italian Aeolian islands. The whiteness that pervades the towns and villages is refreshing to the eye and to the mind. I encourage everyone to visit Puglia, to see not only the “trulli” of Alberobello, but also other architectural marvels of this ancient land and its scenic coastline.

UNESCO:

The trulli, typical limestone dwellings of Alberobello in the southern Italian region of Puglia, are remarkable examples of corbelled dry-stone construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. These structures, dating from as early as the mid-14th century, characteristically feature pyramidal, domed, or conical roofs built up of corbelled limestone slabs. Although rural trulli can be found all along the Itria Valley, their highest concentration and best preserved examples of this architectural form are in the town of Alberobello, where there are over 1500 structures in the quarters of Rione Monti and Aja Piccola.

The property comprises six land parcels extending over an area of 11 hectares. The land parcels comprise two districts of the city (quarters or Rione Monti with 1,030 trulli; Rione Aia Piccola with 590 trulli) and four specific locations (Casa d’Amore; Piazza del Mercato; Museo Storico; Trullo Sovrano).

The extent and homogeneity of those areas, the persistence of traditional building techniques, together with the fact that trulli are still inhabited make this property an exceptional Historic Urban Landscape.

Trulli (singular, trullo) are traditional dry stone huts with a corbelled roof. Their style of construction is specific to the Itria Valley in the region of Puglia. Trulli were generally constructed as temporary field shelters and storehouses or as permanent dwellings by small-scale landowners or agricultural labourers.

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February False Flag: University of Wisconsin Terrace AR Views

A recent gorgeous late February day offered a glimpse of spring. For Madisonians, few places are better to dream of summer than the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Memorial Union Terrace.

This Augmented Reality (AR) scene shares a number of seasonal views.

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Above the Rio Grande: Law Library AR View

Nancy and I explored birds along the Rio Grande a few years ago. This journey took us to a number of Texas State Parks along the river, collectively known as the World birding Center.

The people, food and birding was terrific.

This border area continues to be in the news due to unprecendented human migration. We, too encountered this in 2022.

While checking out the birds at a State Park along the Rio Grande, we noticed some movement in a bush and thought it was another bird. Surprisingly, two guys jumped out, both apparently from Honduras. They asked if we could drive them to McAllen? No. We gave them supplies and continued on our late afternoon bird expedition.

I captured a few aerials along the border in subsequent days.

I thought the University of Wisconsin's Law Library might be an interesting place to view these scenes in augmented reality (AR).



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Shanghai <-> Madison

Out of the way, hidden and obscure museums are often gems. And so it was in Shanghai, where the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre beckoned.



The materials mentioned that its first overseas exhibit was held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Elvehjem Museum, now part of the greater Chazen facility.

Enjoy the brief video, captured in the Chazen's beautiful entrance, adjacent to the cafe.



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