It happens, if you were born in Puglia and more precisely in
Valle d'Itria, that you inherit the old family trullo, the one in which
grandparents "vacationed", spending the summer in the cool of a fig
tree.
It also happens that if you have spent a period of your life, whether long or short, in this corner of Puglia you are so fascinated by it that you decide to make it your second home.
Whether it is the gift of an inheritance or the result of an investment, often you are faced with the need to add rooms to the original building: the goal is to expand the trullo, sometimes too small to meet the needs of a family, without suffocating the original architecture.
But how to proceed with the enlargement of a trullo?
Naturally, trulli extension projects must be coherent and respectful of landscape constraints. An example of this is the Regional Territorial Landscape Plan which, for example, does not allow - in the renovation of a trullo - the use of materials not present in its guidelines (tuff, tiles, concrete).
The first step to verify that you can proceed with the enlargement of a trullo is to consult the Piano Casa 2018 of the Apulia Region: the last extension provided that December 31, 2018 was the deadline by which to submit the housing applications in construction to achieve the volumetric increases. The Piano Casa also stipulates that the expansion must not exceed 20% of the volumetry and must be made using techniques in continuity with traditional construction and aesthetic characteristics.
Additions and extensions must respond - by way of example - to certain indications, such as:
- exterior walls must be finished with white-colored paint, possibly with a lime plaster finish or exposed stone, with a molding of the connections in white;
- are not tolerated caging walls of trulli, silting, painting or plastering with mortar or concrete of the covers of the trulli and, in general, the use of materials that are not of stone for the covers of trulli or "cummersa".
Tolerable additions to existing trulli are (always as an example)
- construction of trulli ex novo within the limits provided for by the regulations;
- constructions of the "cummersa" type within the limits provided for by the regulations;
- pergolas with elements of iron or wood, painted white, with uprights possibly also in stone, properly calibrated in their size and score, to be maintained always below the tax plane of the trullo.
We recommend, however, before planning extensions, increases, or interventions of demolition and reconstruction, to check with the technical office of the municipality the existence of special constraints to be respected more restrictive than the Piano Casa.