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Italy’s remote southern Apulia region, in the heel of the country’s boot shape, is best known by tourists for its cave dwellings and the many cone-shaped, whitewashed huts that dot the countryside. Known as a trullo or trulli in the plural, they’ve made up part of the local landscape since at least the 14th-century and are included on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites.

If you’re in Germany, you don’t need to hop a plane to at least gain a feel for what a trullo looks like. Flonheim, a village in the Rhineland-Palatinate’s Rheinhessen wine growing region, is the somewhat improbable site of three of these peculiar structures. Flonheim’s trulli, nestled among the vineyards, were built between 1720 and 1760. While the building technique used in their construction is the same, Germany’s trulli were never used as dwellings.

Saturday, April 21 makes a particularly good date for a day trip out to see the trulli. From 2 p.m. that day, an event titled Trullo in Flammen, or Trullo in Flames, unfolds. Visitors will wander along a four-mile path through the rolling hills, stopping often to sample the local wines and regional specialties such as spuendekase, a creamy cheese often served with pretzels. Mediterranean-inspired dishes are also among the offerings at the eight stands along the route. As evening falls, illuminations will cast a warm glow to the trullo marking the end of the trail. The starting point of the walk is the parking area of the Geistermuehle winery. Flonheim is located roughly between Bad Kreuznach and Alzey, just off of Autobahn 63. From either Kaiserslautern or Wiesbaden, it’s about a fifty minute trip by car. While reaching Flonheim by public transportation is theoretically possible, it’s a logistical challenge and a long endeavor. Adventurous cyclists could opt to explore the area on June 17, the date of a “Trullowanderung.” From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 19 stands amongst the vineyards between Bockenheim and Monsheim serve up wine and tasty treats.

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