These gleaming whitewashed houses are the most curious looking rounded structures I have ever seen. They are built of stone (whitewashed yearly), with gray stone, cone-shaped roofs. If you see trulli from a reasonable distance, they may look like stone tents scattered across the countryside. In villages where there is a heavy concentration of trulli houses, you might swear it is some kind of mythical fairytale land and expect to find gnomes busily scurrying about hoarding their treasures.

Though the origin of these oddly shaped stone structures may not ’truly’ be known, it is said to have taken place thousands of years ago in the Middle Ages. At this time, anyone who built a dwelling on the king’s land was taxed so heavily that none could afford it. In order to avoid the unfair taxes, these early tax evaders built the teepee shaped structures of dry, un-mortared stones. Upon learning of any upcoming visit from the tax collector, the structures were dismantled and scattered. After the tax man had gone, the dwellings were rapidly re-erected and life continued.

To my knowledge, Puglia is the only place in the world where these trulli houses exist. Today, however, they are permanent structures, fortified with stucco. The cone shape usually still comprises the common area, with the interiors usually being sparsely decorated. With the exception of the bathroom door, the other rooms (bedrooms) are separated by colorful and interesting curtains (though this may not be true of trulli rental apartments or villas).

The climate in Puglia is fairly warm with its summer lasting from Easter until October. In addition to these amazing housing structures, the beauty of the Adriatic coast is unparalleled. The crystal clear turquoise waters are accessible for swimming as well as fishing and other water sports, and uncrowded beaches for sunning can be also found all along this stretch of the coastline, making Puglia a perfect destination for summer travel.

In the whole of Puglia, accommodations range from modest trulli rentals to trulli villas complete with pool, to a bed and breakfast arrangement or five-star hotel. You can choose to stay in the hillside towns or the seaside villages and the entire area is considered a true bargain compared to the rest of Italy. The people of this region are known for their always pleasant and welcoming spirit and their incredible generosity. In spite of its rustic simplicity, Puglia has something to offer every travel budget — from the lowest to the highest — with the most humble to the most luxurious accommodations.

Consider some vacation time in this region of Italy that is still relatively unknown to the tourist trade. Get off the beaten path of tourist-trodden Venice and Rome and give Puglia a try. The largest producer of olive oil in all of Italy (and before long destined to become a mecca for tourists), Puglia promises to not disappoint you. Benvenuto! A presto!

Most of us know that George Clooney lives somewhere there on the lake and we would all love to be able to wave to him as he cruises by in what must be an incredibly luxurious speed boat. But, even though chances of that are slim, you won’t believe the vistas that will surround you.Lake Como is in the northern part of Italy in the Lombardy region. It is one of many lakes in that area, but probably the most popular. The lake is huge and borders the Italian Alps no less. The lake stretches southward with two ’legs’ of the lake and many, many small villages up and down the lakeside coast that are accessible to each other by ferry boat. You may have heard of a few of those villages — Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio. From what I have learned, Varenna looks like my pick and this picture gives you just a little clue as to why.