Saturday,
March 01, 2008
The Trulli of
The
ANNOTICO Report
The
Trulli of
About
1,400 of them are located in the town of
According
to local legend, the trulli were built without mortar
so they could be quickly disassembled into a pile of bricks when the tax
collector came.
!!!!!!!
Thanks to Bert Vorchheimer
and Pat Gabriel
*A Starter House in
The Wall Street Journal
By
Rosamaria Mancini
March
1, 2008
*
In
To
the locals, the trulli -- the cone-roofed structures
that dot the countryside -- are a reminder of the region's humble past. The
most
basic trulli are one-room, round huts
constructed of stacked, dry stones, which form walls and a simple vaulted cone
roof. They date back
to as early as the 14th century, and most housed peasants or
livestock -- or both. Dimensions are snug: The average cone is slightly bigger
than a four-person camping tent. Many lack necessities, such as
running water or toilets.
But
to a growing number of British, Dutch and Germans, they are the ideal
fixer-upper. "Our kids thought we were crazy," says Stephen
Snooks, who moved from
Mr.
Snooks first saw a picture of a trullo
on the Internet, then headed to
trullo was romantic, it was steeped in
history and it was a property they could fix up. It reminded them of
the cone-shaped coast houses in
the English countryside that were used for drying hops for beer.
They also fell in love with the region and the simple way of life they
could
have in
They
laid down a deposit on a five-cone trullo -- each
room has its own cone-shaped roof -- on about two acres that cost a total of
EUR57,000 ($85,570). Three months later they moved to the small town of
They
also added appliances to the kitchen and painted inside and out.
There
are about 5,000 trulli in various states of disrepair
scattered among the olive groves and prickly pear cacti in the Valle d'Itria, on
the strip of land flanked by the
built without mortar so they could be quickly
disassembled into a pile of bricks when the tax collector came. About 1,400 of them are
located
in the town of
During
the 20th century, the trulli were abandoned by their
owners, who fled to the city in search of modern conveniences. Some were used
as occasional country homes by locals, while some of the larger ones were
turned into rustic country inns or restaurants.
Then,
foreigners started coming. About five years ago, low-cost carriers, such as Ryanair, began ferrying people to nearby
Frankfurt and
roofs.
Sensing
opportunity, local real-estate firms started advertising in British magazines,
and pushing the trullo as a unique country-home
investment. Pietro D'Amico, who owns a local property firm,
says he sold 200 trulli to British buyers last year,
a 10% increase from the year before.
The
recent trulli boom is partly a continuation of the
foreign-fueled real-estate speculation that began in
"These
are properties that are still affordable, in spite of the soaring real-estate
prices in
company helps restore trulli.
While
a trullo might be cheaper than a Tuscan farmhouse,
prices have risen in recent years. Today, unrestored trulli with three cones go for
around EUR80,000, an increase of about 30% from five years ago,
according to Mr. D'Amico. The cost of fixing one up has also surged.
Adding
the basics -- bathroom, kitchen and electricity -- can cost at least another
EUR80,000, he says.
Gregory
Snegoff, of
move to the country. The actor/director first learned about
to buy one in the small town of
"For
us, it's wonderful," says Mr. Snegoff, who
bought a one-cone trullo and another small structure,
which sit on six acres, for EUR 25,000. "We are interested in a
self-sustaining way of life where we can eat the fruit and vegetables we grow
and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the country."
As
more foreigners have bought trulli, businesses have
popped up to service them. Ms. Bruno, who is from
trullo powered by solar panels, heads a small firm called
Trullishire (after
qualified local craftsmen and offers assistance in navigating
the thicket of red tape that comes with restoring a trullo.
Trulli have to
be restored in accordance with strict building-code and
planning regulations, which can be a tangled bureaucratic process. Common
requests that are denied include enlarging or adding to
the trulli's small windows, or adding sunrooms or
expansions using wood or terra cotta.
There
are a few new trulli owners who have pushed the
envelope, turning what was once a humble abode into a luxury residence. Ms.
Bruno is handling the construction management of a five-bedroom,
three-bathroom trullo, with an underfloor
heating system powered by solar energy, for a
*Write to Rosamaria Mancini at rosamaria.mancini@dowjones.com/*
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