Locorotondo and its amazing white wine

Locorotondo is located on top of a hill, between Ionian and Adriatic seas.

It is included in the Province of Bari, capital of the Apulian region.

The town is white and elegant.

The TouringClub has rewarded it as one of the most beautiful in Italy.

Locorotondo comes from the Latin Locus Rotundus (round place).

The inner city is just amazing.

The prevalent colors is white and blue. White because of the buildings and churches. Blue because of the sky.

The atmosphere here is very relaxing, ideal for those travelers who look for peace and cultural events.

In summer time, the entire village turns to a stage due to the Locus festival, a music festival which celebrates this year the 10^th anniversary.

Talking about wine, Locorotondo is very well known due to the white wine which takes its own name: Locorotondo.

The Locorotondo wine is a DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) white wine, which is produced plain or sparkling.

The Locorotondo DOC includes 4000 acres of local vineyards.

This white wine is made by different grapes such as Verdeca and Bianco d’Alessano (50 – 65%).

Additional grapes are permitted up to a maximum of 5% including Bombino bianco, Fiano and Malvasia Toscana.

Talking with people in Locorotondo I realize that they are gentle and calm.

I ask to an old lady what are the main dishes there.

She replies: “Gnumerèdde suffuchète”, which is rolls of lamb tripe tied by lamb gut.

Then, it is left cooking in a terracotta pot.

So, don’t you think that it would be worth to come over and have a dish of Gnumerèdde suffuchète accompanied by a glass of Locorotondo? 


Post Scriptum
If you wish to view more pics, please click here

Trulli, the creation of peasant civilization

Lucia and I have hosted in Brindisi Paola and Manuela, two friends of us, who come from Milan.

Paola has never been in Alberobello. So, she has never seen Trulli.

We leave Brindisi after lunch, heading to Valle d’Itria, where Alberobello is located.

Literally, Alberobello is compounded by two words: Albero (tree), bello (beautiful).

Now, let me try to explain you why and when Trulli have been created.

The Acquaviva family, Counts of Conversano, incentivized peasants family to populate a land which will then be called Alberobello.

Therefore, Trulli begun to be built up in the second half of the 16^th century.

Trulli are a kind of construction stable and precarious at the same time.

The Counts authorized the peasants to build dry dwellings, in order to get them easily pulled down in case of royal inspection.

From this perspective, the reason of building up precarious constructions was due to the fact that the Counts of Conversano did not want to pay tax on properties, imposed by the Neapolitan Reign.

We say In Italy: contadino, scarpe grosse e cervello fino, which means that peasants do not look great, however the are very smart.

What makes Trulli even more interesting is not just the way they are built up.

On top of the roof, there are specific symbols which can be categorized as follow: Magic, Christian and Primordial.

Therefore, each category counts six symbols.

I enquiry with a local gentleman about the most favorite dishes in Alberobello.

He replies that handmade orecchiette is the favorite pasta there.

Additionally, a very popular dish is fava bean with chicory, a bitter vegetable. On top of it, two spoons of extra virgin olive oil.

 In terms of wine, the local variety includes: Primitivo, Negroamaro, Locorotondo, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Montepulciano.

Trulli of Alberobello have been declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996.

If you wish to view more pics, please click here