Alberobello

Alberobello is a town in the province of Bari, Puglia, famous for its trulli — traditional whitewashed limestone dwellings with distinctive conical roofs, built without mortar using a prehistoric dry-stone technique. UNESCO recognized the town as a World Heritage Site in 1996 as "the sole example of prehistoric building techniques surviving into modern times." Around 1,500 trulli remain in continuous use, concentrated in the Rione Monti and Rione Aia Piccola districts; some are now shops, restaurants, or guest lodging, while many are still inhabited by locals. The town is the centre of an annual pilgrimage to the Basilica dedicated to the martyr saints Cosma and Damiano.

Alberobello is about 65 km southeast of Bari, reachable by the Ferrovie Sud Est (FSE) regional railway in roughly 1h20–1h30. The FSE is a separate network from Trenitalia, departing from the Bari Centrale FSE station (a separate entrance adjacent to Bari Centrale's main station, on the south side of Piazza Aldo Moro). From Alberobello's FSE station, the main trulli district (Rione Monti) is about a 10-minute walk uphill.

The historic trulli districts are compact and best explored on foot.

• Rione Monti — the most-visited trulli district, with more than 1,000 trulli spread across 15 streets on the western hillside.
• Rione Aia Piccola — a quieter trulli neighbourhood with narrow streets, far fewer shops and crowds than Rione Monti.
• Basilica dei Santi Medici Cosma e Damiano — the town's basilica and centre of its annual pilgrimage.

Wander the trulli districts, particularly the quieter Aia Piccola for an uncrowded feel of the traditional dry-stone architecture.

Bari, the regional capital, is about 65 km away and the main rail gateway to Alberobello; other Itria Valley towns such as Locorotondo and Martina Franca are nearby.