Travel Our World
  • Up-coming Trips
    • Route of the Vikings - 2021
  • Prior Trips
    • Africa - 2020
    • Arabian Adventure - 2020
    • Great Rivers of Europe - 2019
    • South America - 2019
    • 2018 Trips >
      • Northern Italy - 2018
      • South Korea & Japan - 2018
      • Cuba - 2018
    • 2017 Trips >
      • Australia & New Zealand - 2017
      • Maritimes Coastal Wonders - 2017
      • Eastern Canada - 2017
      • Spain & Portugal - 2017
    • 2016 Trips >
      • Ultimate Africa - 2016
      • France's Finest - 2016
      • Discover Scotland - 2016
      • Enchanting Ireland - 2016
    • 2015 Trips >
      • Flavors of Southern Italy & Sicily - 2015
      • Norwegian Coastal Voyage & Lapland - 2015
      • Eastern Europe to the Black Sea - 2015
      • Machu Picchu & Galapagos - 2015
    • 2014 >
      • Hidden Gems of the Dalmatian Coast and Greece - 2014
      • Turkey's Magical Hideaways - 2014
      • Essence of the Elbe: Prague to Berlin - 2014
    • 2013 and earlier >
      • Inside Vietnam - 2013
      • Russia Revealed - 2013
      • Untamed Iceland - 2013
      • Safari Serengeti - 2012
  • Blog
  • About
    • Travel Style
  • Contact
  • Tips & Tools
    • Solo Travel
    • Travel in Uncertain Times
  • FAQ

Alternative Dwellings of Sassi and Trulli

10/2/2015

 
Picture
We're in the heal of the "boot".
Picture
Sassi
Picture
Caves are carved out of the tufa with limestone facades
Adapted from posts by Lyn Whaley

Sassi di Matera is an ancient town known for its cave dwellings, both historic and modern.  The caves show evidence of human habitation dating back to 7,000 B.C. and are thought to have been the homes of the first humans in what is now modern day Italy.

The Italian government forcibly moved most of the people out of the caves in the 1950's, citing the area as an eyesore and health hazard.  Since the 1980 's tourism has given new life to the caves and people are beginning to move back into them.   Our local guide has turned 7 caves into a modern home for his family. He also said that there are B and Bs that offer a night in a cave for $1,000---without breakfast!  The remake of Ben Hur, out in 2016, will be partially filmed here too.  Talk about re-purposing!!!
Picture
Life in a cave
The town of Alberobello has the unusually built huts known as "trulli ".  They have cone-shaped roofs and no mortar to hold the stones together.  There is some speculation that, because of high property taxes, they could quickly and easily be torn down and reconstructed, depending on where the tax assessors were. 

Their heyday was the 19th  century, especially during the development of wine growing in the area, although there is evidence they existed in the 17th century.  Today, they serve as tourist shops and cafés.
Picture
Overview of the trulli section of town
Picture
Trulli shops

Comments are closed.

    Join Us

    Follow our travels with stories and photos.

    Click to Subscribe


    You can unsubscribe at any time.

    Prefer Facebook Updates?
    click  below



    Categories

    All
    2012 - Safari Serengeti
    2013 Inside Vietnam
    2013 - Inside Vietnam
    2013 - Russia Revealed
    2013 - Untamed Iceland
    2014 - Essence Of The Elbe
    2014 Hidden Gems Of The Dalmatian Coast & Greece
    2014 Turkey And Uzbekistan
    2015-eastern-europe-to-the-back-sea
    2015-italy
    2015-machu-pucchu-and-the-galapagos
    2015-norwegain-coastal-voyage-and-lapland
    2016-france
    2016-scotland-ireland
    2016-ultimate-africa
    2017-australia-new-zealand
    2017-eastern-canada
    2017-spain-and-portugal
    2018 Northern Italy
    2018 South Korea And Japan
    2019 Great Rivers
    2019 South America

    Archives

    February 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    January 2014
    September 2013
    August 2013
    December 2012

Picture
Travel with the best friends you haven't even met yet
View upcoming events.
Copy them to your calendar.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Stormsignal