Typical constructions
Puglia is a region that, through its typical buildings, tells stories of hard work, tradition and timeless beauty. From dry stone walls to the specchie, passing through baroque churches and the typical pajare, every corner of this land is a journey into the past, an encounter with a culture that knows how to combine respect for nature with the greatness of human ingenuity. Every village, every building, every stone tells a piece of history that makes Puglia one of the most fascinating regions in Italy!
One of the distinctive elements of the Apulian landscape are the dry stone walls, which delimit agricultural land, pastures and olive groves. Built without the use of mortar, but simply by overlapping stones in such a way as to guarantee their stability, these walls are an extraordinary example of rural engineering. Their construction requires great skill and knowledge of the territory, as the stones must be selected based on their shape and size to adapt perfectly to each other. Dry stone walls are widespread throughout the region but mostly in the Itria Valley area, famous for hosting centuries-old olive groves.
Not to forget the famous trulli of nearby Alberobello. These are ancient stone dwellings typical of the Puglia region with conical roofs, used for centuries as rural homes and stables for animals.
Baroque art also finds fertile ground in the Puglia region where it is possible to admire some of the most significant examples. Among these, Lecce is certainly the baroque city par excellence of all Puglia, with its imposing Basilica of Santa Croce. It is no coincidence that it has been nicknamed “the capital of the Baroque”.
As evidence of the food and wine identity of the Region, the ancient underground oil mills, underground structures that were used for milling olives. These oil mills, dug into the rock, are found in various areas of Puglia, particularly in lower Salento. The particular underground position guaranteed an ideal temperature for the conservation of the oil and for the processing. Today, many of these mills have been restored and can be visited, offering tourists a fascinating journey into the region’s agricultural past.
In this section you can discover everything there is to know about all the typical buildings of Puglia, particular places that tell past stories of considerable cultural interest.