Trulli houses in Puglia, welcome to the sunshine!

We cannot but start with a sigh. Oh, how we wish we could be there! Our hosts are architects Aldo Flore and Rosanna Venezia of studio Arkitetti, who have just refurbished a trullo (a traditional dry stone hut with a conical roof) in Puglia, southern Italy. Puglia is a spectacular region made of olive groves, sun, sea and wind, where we can taste “orecchiette alle cime di rapa” and enjoy the taranta music. Certainly, Puglia is much more besides, but breathtaking views and exceptional trulli makes us want (we, northerners) to pack our bags and head down south immediately.

Aldo and Rosanna are experts in the refurbishment of the trulli. By now, their practice studio Arkitetti has refurbished a few hundred of these buildings, helped by the invaluable “trullari”. Trullari are local stonemasons skilled in this ancient craft, which luckily has survived the desertion of the countryside. Recent years have seen the rebirth of the trulli, mainly because they’ve been turned into holiday homes from tourists, who have found peace and genuine hospitality in this magical region.

After having spent many years refurbishing trulli for clients, Aldo and Rossana have finally worked on one for themselves. It’s barely 10 minutes from their home/ office in Ostuni (10 minutes because there’s no traffic here). And with their grownup kids, they spend every possible moment here, be it a sunny afternoon picking thyme, rosemary or the ripest lemons.

Trulli are an extremely ancient form of architecture (we are talking about the stone age), but the ones here are from the late seventeenth century. After the feuds were dismantled, farmers and shepherds were allowed to build temporary shelters, small structures which could be taken down easily, and this is why they used local dry stone. The load bearing conical roof is also from this time. Necessity is the mother of all invention: this is an area filled with olive trees, not suitable for beam construction.

This is the floor plan of the cluster of the trulli of our architects. Walls are in grey. They are extremely thick where they support the conical roof, they provide thermal comfort, because this type of building wasn’t heated and the floor was bare ground. Plus, the window openings were tiny. At dusk, peasants used to come in from the fields, and a shelter was all their required. So, in order to get dry walls, the first thing the architects did was to insulate and ventilate the floor from the ground.

With simple charm, the weather-beaten look of this rural furniture has a story to tell. Aldo and Rosanna have reused pretty much all the furniture left by the old occupants, and have added a few items from their warehouse. In fact, they have a small storage deposit where they upcycle what’s worth saving, found in the homes they refurbish. In general, it’s the prospective owners who want reclaimed furniture. Here, nobody pretends luxury, Rosanna says, apart from the swimming pool, essential if you spend the baking hot summer months here.

Two architects, he’s from Ostuni, she’s from Matera, who have fallen in love with this region, and, just like Rosanna Venezia puts it, are “extremely aware of being in a magical place”. Aldo and Rosanna are extremely passionate about their work, to refurbish abandoned trulli is not just their field of expertise, but a real mission for them. For the happiness of those, who were attracted to this wonderful sunny corner not only by the ancient architecture, but also by the genuine warmth of the locals, appreciating contact with nature and the joy brought by local music.

Check out “Pumo,” Kartell‘s container inspired by the traditional Apulian cone-shaped good luck charm