L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano A l b e r o b e l l o ' s t r u l l i a r e among the most c h a r a c t e r i s t i c b u i l d i n g s i n Italy. They are so rare and beautiful that, today, they are part of the U N E S C O W o r l d H e r i t a g e L i s t . Their name comes from the Greek and means "dome." Their structure is characteri- z e d b y a c i r c u l a r c e n t r a l room with, when necessary, other circular rooms around it, each with its own pinna- cled roof. Their walls are very thick, which guarantees ideal temperatures throughout the year, but also means trulli are often not that big inside. Historians tell us the first trullo-like structures appea- red in Puglia during prehi- story, especially in the Itria valley, where tholos, beehive- shaped tombs, were com- mon. Sure, they were not trulli, but their conic form is really reminiscent of Puglia's most famous houses. To find real trulli we have to fast forward to the 14th c e n t u r y , w h e n t h e a r e a known today as the town of Alberobello was gifted to the C o u n t o f C o n v e r s a n o b y Robert of Anjou, prince of Taranto and then, later, king of Naples for most of the first 50 years of the 1300s. It was a present to show gratitude f o r t h e c o u n t ' s s e r v i c e s during the Crusades. Trulli are dry-mortarless c o n s t r u c t i o n s f o r a v e r y curious reason: basically, they had to be easy to tear down. Yes, to tear down! The Kingdom of Naples used to heavily tax new settlements and so, to avoid having to p a y a l l t h a t m o n e y t o a n a l r e a d y p r e t t y r i c h k i n g , locals sharpened their creati- vity and came out with the idea of building their homes in such a way it was easy to t a k e t h e m q u i c k l y a p a r t when the king's emissaries were on their way. And this is how Alberobello existed, b u t t h e k i n g n e v e r r e a l l y knew it was there. To be truthful to history, though, we should also say that trulli were largely built this way because this was the technique associated with the most typical material of t h e a r e a , l i m e s t o n e . However, it's nice to think about the village that was and wasn't at the same time, a n d a b o u t h o w A p u l i a n s tricked their king for a while. Alberobello as we know it today dates back to 1620, when it became independent from nearby Noci. Its name, Alberobello (literally, beauti- ful tree) comes from the Medieval Latin name given to the area, silva arboris belli, or "the wood of the tree of war." While they may look "the same" to us, trulli have seve- ral distinctive features. For instance, they all have diffe- rent plants, depending on the needs of the families who h a d t h e m b u i l t a l l t h o s e years ago. There is more: take a look at the symbols e m b l a z o n i n g t h e i r r o o f s : each symbolizes the religion of the family living in it, at the time they were built, so they tend to be all different, too. And if you wonder what those pinnacles on top of them are — they are called pinnacoli in Italian — and why they are all different from one another, we have the answer for you: they were the coat of arms of the trul- lo's owners. If you're lucky enough to visit Alberobello, check out S a n t ' A n t o n i o c h u r c h , which is a trullo, and also the Trullo Sovrano, the only two story trullo. Speaking of unique trulli, the T r u l l o Siamese is certainly one of the quirkiest: the construc- tion is divided in two, with t w o s e p a r a t e e n t r a n c e s . Legends say that, once upon a time, the double dwelling was home to two brothers and the elder's fiancée, who — alas!— had an affair with the younger sibling. For this reason, the brothers fell out and the house was divided as we see it today, so that the two didn't have to deal with each other anymore. In case you'd like more info about the area, then ask the people at the Alberobello Tourist Office, which is loca- ted — quite aptly — in a trul- lo, called Casa d'Amore, known for being the first trullo built with mortar in 1797. H onestly, there i s n o t h i n g n i c e a b o u t today's word, calura (cah- loo-rah). Calura is more than simple heat, it's unbearable heat. It's what you get when it's so hot you could bake cookies on the ground or fry your morning eggs on a car's dashboard. It comes from the vulgar Latin word calura, child of the verb calere, being hot. In Italian, we started using it in the 13th century, so it's likely our Dante complained about t h e h e a t u s i n g t h i s v e r y word. It has the same root as caldo, hot, and calore, heat: they are all lexical siblings. Calura, of course, is typi- cal of the summer, so Italians pretend to like it, as it often c h a r a c t e r i z e s v a c a t i o n s : truth is, you can handle and bear it only if you have the chance to jump into the sea whenever you feel like it. Indeed, there isn't better remedy to calura than the b l u e w a v e s o f t h e Mediterranean. However, if you're stuck at w o r k , a i r c o n d i t i o n i n g i s your only way out. Calura is first cousin with a n o t h e r b e a u t i f u l I t a l i a n word, canicola, which is a bit m o r e o l d f a s h i o n e d , b u t means pretty much the same thing and requires the same tricks to survive it: the sea, or the AC. August, the time of the y e a r w h e n e v e n t h e f i r s t e m p e r o r o f R o m e , A u g u s t u s , w o u l d g o o n holiday, is the month of calu- ra, so be aware if you come v i s i t t h i s t i m e n e x t y e a r : make sure you water bottle is in the bag. And if you want to t a k e a l e a f o u t o f I t a l i a n women's book, you should also dig your grandma's old lacy fan and use it everywhe- re: in the street, while sip- p i n g c o f f e e a t t h e b a r , i n church, at the restaurant. Let's face it, it's much clas- sier than waving your hands or a piece of paper around your face all day long. But in the end, calura is also synonym of summer, so it means a lot of good things, too: calura is ghiaccioli alla menta and granite, sweet tea and coconut slices on the beach, salty lips (from spen- ding your days in the water) and watermelon. So, there's a nice side to calura, when you really think of it. Ad Agosto la calura in città è insopportabile! In August, the extreme heat of the city is unbearable! Questa calura può causa- re problemi di salute. This heat can cause health problems - Sarà anche Estate e le vacanze sono belle, ma que- sta calura la detesto. - I know it's Summer and being on holiday is great but I hate this heat. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Do you enjoy calura this time of the year, or is air conditioning your best friend? Alberobello, its trulli and the time the Anjou thought they weren't there

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