At one time, Puglia was full of trees. Of course, it still is full of trees – Olive trees that is – but, years ago, there would have been forests of Pine, Yew, Beech and others. Today, Puglia is a land of plains and huge cultivated areas of vineyards, olive trees and citrus groves. The forests of old have largely disappeared, cut down many centuries ago, probably to make way for agriculture and plains for grazing livestock. With the disappearance of the forests, some speculate that there would have been a shortage of wood to build with.

Olive Trees take many years to mature, and when they do they are a valuable source of income, and not to be cut down for building houses! A happy coincidence however, namely the abundance of limestone, quite possibly saved the day and paved the way for much of the wonderful architecture we see today.