Alberobello

The history of Alberobello dates back to the second half of the XVIth century, when it was donated from the king of Naples to the earls of Conversano as a present for their victories during a crusade.
The first document about the existence of this feud is a donation certificate dating 1272, in which is shown the name “Selva”.
 The earl Andrea Acquaviva called is feud “Sylva Aut Nemus Arborisbelli”, and ordered the peasants who lived nearby to build houses “a secco and to populate that land. The houses ere easy to be destroyed and rebuilt in order to avoid taxations from the king of Spain, as stated in “PRAMMATICA DE BARONIBUS”.
  So the early trulli, called “specchie”, began to represent the peasant’s dwelling.
In 1626, the Selva was under the uthority of the earl Gian Girolamo IInd called “Il guercio di Puglia” (the squint-eyed of Apulia) who ave the peasant’s an in, a hoven, a mill, a
butchery and a grocery to improve life conditions.
In his palace, situated above a ttle slope, Gian Girolamo IInd built a chapel dedicated to the holy medicians Cosma and Damiano (two brothers martyrized in Arabia in 302), who became Patron Saints of the Selva.

Through the years, the population of 3500 inhabitants was tired of every abuses suffered from the earls, so they asked the king of Naples to be free from any feudal power.
The king’s degree of may the 27th 1797 put an end to the feudal power and Alberobello became a city.
On december the 5th 1996, the worldwide committee of UNESCO declared Alberobello member of the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST for “a unique typology which allows the survival of a prehistorical building culture...”
During the year there are many festivals where popular tradition, art and culture blend; Alberobello Fotografia, Experimenta, Festival Folkloristico Internazionale, Seminari di Marzo.