Farms, food and magical stone cottages in Italy’s Puglia

VALLE D’ITRIA, Italy – There are no famous historical figures to discover in the Valle d’Itria (vah-lay dee-tree-ah) in Italy’s central Puglia (POO-lee-ah), no city of note with theatres and great cathedrals.

Instead, it’s a quiet place of rolling green hills, meandering country roads, endless stone walls, earthy food and wine.

But there is one must-see attraction.

The town of Alberobello is a UNESCO World Heritage site famous for stone cottages with conical roofs called trulli (TRUE-lee).

A trullo (TRUE-lo) is a heap of field stones piled atop one another, topped with a conical roof, called a candela.

Mystical symbols painted on the candelas and pinnacles shaped like spheres, disks, stars and crosses add to the fairytale quality.

Traditionally, trulli were simple farmers’ dwellings. In recent years some have been turned into modern homes.