It’s almost impossible not to fall under the spell of this dreamscape where round, domed houses known as trulli rise from gentle hillsides. Alberobello will make you feel like you’ve stepped into the pages of a fairy tale, but this small town in Italy’s southeastern Puglia region is decidedly of this world, fashioned from limestone, surrounded by centuries-old vineyards and olive groves, and home to 11,000 residents.
I had never seen so many tall and sleek model types in my life. I watched with fascination as they rushed through Milan’s Piazza del Duomo (“Cathedral Square”) for an unknown rendezvous or appointment, dressed in the latest fashion. It was also the first time I had ever paid $16 for a café latte, but it was well worth the price …
The Palladian Traveler puts away his wellies and laces up his hiking boots as he treks around the picturesque Valle d’Itra of Puglia in search of deserted trulli.
How was your journey? The Gambardella family, several generations of whom are usually on the scene, have been asking this question ever since they began welcoming guests to their villa-like retreat on the edge of a cliff along the legendary Amalfi Coast of southern Italy in 1904.
Well, all my travel journalist colleagues seem to be doing it; so I thought it was about time for me to finally compile my own list of favorite travel destinations in 2018. I was blessed to experience such an array of edifying and diverse landscapes and cultures. Did I say diverse?
Shards of rain and near-freezing temperatures in the middle of December did not prevent me from making a desperate pact with Horace. As a financially hopeless traveling boy, I often asked dead authors for help. I showed up at their graves and pleaded, “I’ll keep writing, you just show me how to pay the bills. Show me how to make a living.” That’s what I said, or some variation thereof.
The Triestini are brave people: they sunbathe from February to the last sunburst in November! And they love to enjoy life, tasting one of the 40 different coffee cups or venturing into the Karst for biking, trekking, climbing or just looking for the popular "osmizas", private houses where you can taste local food and wine (karstic prosciutto, cheese and of course wine).
My dream was about to become a reality. Based in Los Angeles, I was used to taunts from my otherwise wonderful East Coast friends, who were never shy about battering me with people in Southern California don’t know what REAL pizza is. Though I had eaten my way through New York, Boston and Philly in the past and had sampled their delicious pies – I would ask them countless times why it was a REAL pizza and others were not.
Just as the early morning sun had penetrated the Adriatic Sea’s marine layer, my driver arrived to take me to the Venice airport for my flight home to the U.S. PortoPiccolo proved to be the ideal location to end my journey of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Located minutes from Trieste, devoid of Roman roads and medieval streets, the upscale seaside resort was the perfect venue to simply relax and reflect about my exploration of Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia Region.
London, Paris, Berlin and Udine. Yes, Udine. And let’s not forget about Grado, Salice and Trieste, most definitely Trieste. This is Friuli Venezia Gulia region of Italy, spread across the far northeastern corner of the nation. I first read about this stunning region of diverse landscapes, languages and cultures over 15 years ago and swore that someday I would see it for myself. This June I finally did.