Driving south from Calitri towards Lecce we passed fields with olive trees, but it wasn’t until we were off the highway heading towards Cisternino that we came upon the ancient trees that Puglia is known for.
The gps directed us onto a dirt road through a grove of trees lined by short rock walls. It was like nothing we’d ever seen before. The trunks were twisted around and around. Some were even knotted. There was no one else around and it was as if we had discovered some magical place.
As we got closer to Cisternino trulli started to appear in the fields. I was fascinated! Some of them seemed to be incredibly old and were obviously abandoned. Others were painted white and had been incorporated into other buildings being used as homes. I couldn’t wait until we found what would be our trullo for the next few days.
I won’t go into the long story of us actually finding our trullo. Suffice it to say there’s not a lot of signage out in the countryside and we learned that your gps may to get you to where you want to go. Maybe because it was so hard to find that when we pulled into the driveway I could barely contain myself. Just look at this patio! I was immediately smitten by the shades of blue and flowers spilling out of ceramic pots. The interior was equally as charming.
I couldn’t wait to climb the steps to the roof top deck which offered an incredible view of the valley and to the town of Locorotondo off in the distance. The deck was our go to spot for cocktails in the evening.
One evening we opted to eat in and were treated to a typical Pulgiese meal prepared by Giovanni, son of the owner. B & B Piertaviva is located a few miles outside of Cisternino and we will be there this fall if at all possible.
I took this last shot at dawn as we were reluctantly leaving for the airport. The bright side was that we weren’t leaving Italy, but heading to Rome!
Panini Girl 