However, considering mankind’s penchant for war or for simple thuggery, I guess it’s no wonder I’ve encountered other private housing built with defense in mind. My favorite examples in Europe are:

Kosovo. The traditional kulla, a fortified home of two or three stories on a square base, features thick stone walls and, at ground level, is windowless. Living quarters were on the second floor, but families slept in nearby buildings in peacetime. Kosovars, who are ethnic Albanians, built hundreds of the homes in western Kosovo in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries when the area was part of the Ottoman empire.

In the 20^th century, Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia and, later, as Yugoslavia began to break up, it remained part of Serbia. In the late 1990s, as Kosovo fought for independence from Serbia, more than 90% of its roughly 500 kullas were severely damaged or destroyed. As symbols of Albanian heritage, the houses had been targeted for destruction.

I don’t know how many have been restored by now, but in 2010, I visited the Drenoc historic zone, which contained numerous kullas in varying states of repair or disrepair.

Above and below, traditional kullas, or fortified family homes, seen in Kosovo’s Drenoc historic zone, an area known for these stone houses.

I shared a group meal with hosts and a visiting delegation of travel professionals at the 200-year-old Mazrekaj Kulla, restored and fitted out for tourism in 2005.

When I visited, the bottom floor, a cowshed, accommodated an impromptu shop. There were sleeping spaces on the second floor; lunch was served on the third floor, a space where, until about 40 years ago, no women were allowed.

Our meal was served at a sofra, a traditional round wooden table, which sits only a few inches off the floor. We sat on cushions on the floor in order to eat a meal of local food: salad, peppers, meat and bread.

The Mazrekaj Kulla is now listed as a B&B at Airbnb.

One of our hosts, in traditional Kosovar garb, at the entry to the 200-year-old Mazrekaj Kulla. The home was restored and fitted out for tourism and now appears as a housing option at Airbnb.

Georgia. The approximately 600 tower houses in Upper Svenati in the Caucasus Mountains of northern Georgia (the country) were never meant to be housing. Symbols of each family’s strength, they were built for refuge in emergencies.

They were usually five stories tall, and residents entered at the second level via a hanging ladder used to prevent unwanted incursions. I walked among several at Ushguli, described as Europe’s highest-altitude village — never mind that not everyone considers this Europe or agrees on the altitude, which may be around 7,200 feet.

During the three hours of mountain driving to and from Ushguli (Mestia, a ski resort, was the starting point), I saw scores of stone tower houses in valleys and on hilltops. Mestia has a rich collection as well.

A single tower and a few houses in the small Georgian village of Ipari, all dwarfed by their setting in the Caucasus Mountains. This was typical of the mountain scenes en route to Ushguli.

Mestia, the ski resort town in Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains, has its own rich collection of tower houses.

Upper Svenati’s towers generally date from the 16^th and 17^th centuries, but in Ushguli, some date from the 11^th and 12^th centuries. At Ushguli’s altitude, the towers make a dramatic scene.

Above and below, views of the house towers on display in Ushguli, set high in the Caucasus Mountains.

This tower belongs to the Lamaria Church in Ushguli in Georgia’s Upper Svenati region. The village sits among some of the country’s highest mountains.

Bulgaria. Now I’ll talk about houses there weren’t towers but were definitely built as defensive establishments — in Bulgaria at the time the Ottoman Turks were overlords.

In the 16^th to 18^th centuries, the town of Arbanasi was populated with merchants and artisans who had special privileges under the Turks. But, because of their wealth, they were vulnerable to robbery, which explains residents’ large fortress-like houses.

The homes sat in vast yards surrounded by stone walls up to four meters (12-plus feet) high. The owners’ families lived on the second floor; the ground floor provided storage space and housing for servants. By the 17th century, the town had about 1,000 such houses.

Above and below, typical merchant houses, surrounded by stone walls for safety, seen during my 1995 visit to Arbanasi, Bulgaria.

About 50 of those houses remain, and I visited the upstairs living quarters in two, the Iliev House in 1995 and Konstantsaliev House in 2009. On the inside, they offered all the comforts that wealth could buy, in the style appropriate to their time and place.

The houses still draw tourists to Arbanasi (along with the town’s 16^th-17^th century Nativity Church, BTW; this is a tiny plain stone building that surprises with a riot of colorful frescoes covering its interior).

Now, I will let photos finish this discussion.

The Konstantsaliev House, seen during my 2009 visit to Arbanasi, Bulgaria.

Above and below, interior of the he Konstantsaliev House, seen during my 2009 visit to Arbanasi, Bulgaria.

A sample of the frescoes that covered the inside of Arbanasi’s Nativity Church. Its plain-Jane exterior gave no hint of the extensive and prized artwork inside. The church is now a museum but is he setting for occasional religious services.

Meanwhile, for more about Bulgaria, we offer at BestTripChoices.com the following, under the headline, Smell the roses: https://besttripchoices.com/international-countries/bulgaria/

This blog and its photos are by Nadine Godwin, BestTripChoices.com editorial director and contributor to the trade newspaper, Travel Weekly. She also is the author of “Travia: The Ultimate Book of Travel Trivia.”

The post Europe: Fortified homes appeared first on Best Trip Choices.

In Italy alone, I have seen examples of tower houses in Pisa, Florence and Lucca. Also, UNESCO, in discussing the reasons Siena’s historic city center is a protected site, refers to tower houses within the town walls, but I have not seen them, at least not wittingly.

As for the houses I have seen:

Pisa. During a 2007 visit, a tour guide said medieval Pisa was a “huge, rich city” where people built tall houses, the taller the more powerful the owner. He said there were 700 such houses (that number sounds suspiciously high to me!), but when Florence took over Pisa in the Middle Ages, it cut off the tops “to show who was boss,” he said.

Only three towers survive, he said. I have no photos (bad lighting), but the Leaning Tower remains the tower to see in Pisa anyway!

Above, the Leaning Tower, the tower to see in Pisa; below, the Leaning Tower and Pisa Cathedral.

Florence. During my October 2018 visit, I toured the Dante House Museum. Its exhibits focus on the man and his “Divine Comedy” — and the story of the city where he lived.

From museum signage, I learned that by around 1300, Florence counted roughly 150 tower houses within the city walls, the tallest rising to about 245 feet. They were built for defense, given the bloody fights between feuding families within the city, and to maximize urban space. Tower houses generally had one room per floor, connected by wooden ladders, which could be pulled up in case of an enemy’s intrusion at ground level.

Then, a 1250 law mandated that houses be shortened, to stand no more than about 95 feet. By the 14th century, the need for defensive houses had faded, but a few remain.

With some help from Google, I found two near the Arno River, not far from the Ponte Vecchio on the same side of the river as the PItti Palace. These houses are not elegant to look at, at least not on the exterior, but who cares?

Above, Belfredelli Tower House in Florence; below, Florence’s Barbadori Tower House.

Lucca. My favorite tower houses, or tower house remains, are here. During the 2018 Italy trip, three friends and I joined a walking tour of Lucca, during which our guide Alexandra pointed out these medieval dwellings, most of them from the 14^th century.

She said a lived-in tower would be both workplace and home for a single family, and the family would build higher as it became more prosperous. Added height yielded more living space despite the small plots, and there was a security element here, too, she said.

Also, the wealthy sometimes built towers next to living spaces just to show off. Like Florence, Lucca imposed legal limits on tower heights.

Looking for all the world like a tower meant for showing off, Lucca’s Guinigi Tower House has trees growing out of the top. Visitors can climb to the top of this one.

Lucca’s repurposed tower houses are relatively easy to spot because of a tradition for brick arches framing the old homes’ windows and street-level entries. Alexandra pointed out a set of three that had been combined to make a single large home. In another case, seven in a line had been combined for a single building.

Above, former Lucca tower houses, identified by the brick arches visible on their exteriors. These houses sit on Piazza Puccini, named for the composer Giacomo Puccini, who was born in a house on this square. Below, a statue of the composer in the square.

These houses were so photogenic, which is a major reason I wrote this blog!

In Lucca, remains of tower houses are frequently visible, as on the house second from left on the street above. Below, more brick arches, revealing remnants of two Lucca tower houses.

Meanwhile, for more about Tuscany, we offer at BestTripChoices.com the following, under the headline, Medieval walls, Chianti wine: https://besttripchoices.com/international-touring-areas/tuscanyhill-towns-italy/

This blog and its photos are by Nadine Godwin, BestTripChoices.com editorial director and contributor to the trade newspaper, Travel Weekly. She also is the author of “Travia: The Ultimate Book of Travel Trivia.”

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