A Day in the Murge
Ten years ago, my fiancee and I flew from Florence to Bari for a
brief vacation. Airports are pretty much the same the world over, as are
shuttle busses that go to train stations. However, when we emerged blinking
owlishly into the sun in Lecce, we had the unsettling
feeling of being in a different country. We expected people's accents to differ
from ours, but we didn't expect the countryside to be so different: Dry,
incredibly dry, with sun-bleached stones shimmering in the heat. The houses
were different too; simple whitewashed cubes with flat roofs that look
remarkably like the houses on the Greek isles. The resemblance may not be
accidental - Puglia was
colonized by the Greeks before the Romans, and was part of the Byzantine empire
after Rome paled. In any case, we discovered, when we reached the house our
friend
Chiara had rented in Santa Maria
di Leuca, a tiny town on the very heel of the boot, that these little white
homes were remarkably cool and comfortable. And, after a couple of days, they
began to seem quite normal.
I'm not sure I would get used to the Trulli we discovered one day we drove north so easily. They're the traditional homes built in the Murge, the vibrantly green high plains southwest of Bari, and when you see one you'll expect fairies to emerge from it - they look like they belong in a story by the Brothers Grimm. Actually, their origin is much more prosaic: They're a tax dodge. The local nobility taxed permanent housing, while a trullo can be pulled down with a rope and reassembled almost as quickly once the tax man has left (or so we were told). In any case, a trullo is essentially a cupola, with four small rooms eked out of the spaces below the supporting arches. Farms usually have a number of trulli linked together, and they do give the landscape an exotic flavor.
Exotic isn't quite
the word for Alberobello, a town built almost entirely of Trulli. There are
more than a thousand of them, all with immaculately whitewashed walls and gray
conical roofs topped by crosses or other religious symbols, some of pagan
origin.
The town was declared a
national monument in the 30s, and as you wander the narrow streets you'll feel
as if you've taken a step back in time. You may also decide to stay in a
trullo; while we were exploring Alberobello an old woman offered us hospitality
in hers.
Ostuni is almost as exotic though with a more near-eastern flavor: It's a white town, with white walls and white roofs, perched on a hill overlooking the Adriatic. Even the asphalt of the streets seemed somehow whiter than normal, and the only black I saw as we explored it was a widow's dress. A beautiful town, which would have been fun to stay at, had we not been based in Santa Maria di Leuca.
The day ended with a long drive home to a
simple meal - friselle, a Puglian specialty that is still virtually
unknown outside the region. Friselle are flattish rings of bread about
six inches in diameter, which are split and dried. To eat them, you soak them
briefly in water, then smother them with freshly chopped sun-ripened tomatoes,
minced hot peppers (another Puglian specialty), basil, and olive oil. The local
wines aren't subtle either (Botromagno is an
exception), and the combination is sublime. The next morning, a breakfast of
fresh figs from the tree outside our front door, and then swimming in the bay
below.
Who could ask for more?
Well, actually, there
are some things going on in the Murge that you should know about:
- January 6: The Magi process at Monopoli.
- February: Pulignano holds Carnival parades much like those of Viareggio, with beautiful floats.
- March-April: On Good Thursday there's a procession at Monopoli.
- May: The last Sunday, there's the gnummeredd fair at Cisternino, a kite fair at Polignano, and a fair in honor of the Virgin at Pulignano.
- June: A festival to honor Saint Anthony, at Cisternino.
- July 16: Alberobello holds a fair.
- August: Lots of festivals in the region, in particular, Alberobello holds a handicrafts fair in the first 10 days of the month, and then a folk festival for the next two weeks.
- September: Again, lots of things going on. Castellana Grotte has something almost every weekend, and Casalini has a winefest during the last two weeks of the month.
- October: Coversano honors Saint Rita and Saints Cosma and Damiano on the first Sunday.
- December:
Cisterino burns a bonfire to honor Saint Lucy on the 13th, then has
a living crèche from the 25th. Alberobello celebrates
Christmas among the trulli.
The other thing you
might like to know is that Putignano is famed for its lace, and its wedding
gowns.
Have a great trip!
Kyle Phillips
