Alberobello stacks roughly fifteen hundred whitewashed, conical-roofed trulli up its two hills, an entire vernacular building tradition born partly from feudal tax evasion: local landlords required tenants to build in easily-collapsible drystone rather than mortar, supposedly so the settlement could be dismantled fast whenever royal tax inspectors came to assess it.
The Rione Monti district holds the highest concentration, its lanes now lined with shops rather than farmhouses, while quieter Rione Aia Piccola keeps more of the original residential feel. Painted symbols on many roof cones, some Christian, some older and closer to folk magic, hedge every bet a family might want covered, and the whole district earned UNESCO status in 1996.
