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The blinding white city Ostuni

The white city Ostuni near Brindisi in Puglia is the kind of place that sticks in your memory along with Arcady and Alice’s Wonderland. A town so simple and peaceful it hurts the eyes.



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Standing on Piazza della Libertá on a hot summer day, looking up on the column of Saint Orontius, who has a miraculous spring of water and cave in the area, there is nothing much to distinguish Ostuni from any other city with 30.000 inhabitants on Salento. There’s the usual assortment of parks, shops, cafes, markets and churches teeming with life all morning in order to stop when the clock strikes one.

white city Ostuni

View from Ostuni over the sea, a Salumeria selling sandwiches and the the cathedral surrounded by old white washed houses.

Lost in a White World

But once you walk past the cafe, the antiques shop, the estate agent and the Antica Salumeria up Via Cattedrale you enter a different world. Gradually the streets narrow down to leave out most motorized vehicles. And once you have stopped to admire the Gothic cathedral with the grand rose window, you can lose yourself in a labyrinth of streets leaving the majority of other tourists behind. There is a welcoming smell of damp and detergent. All the houses lean on their neighbours with soft edges that have been rounded by centuries of communal whitewash. And the blinding white colour beneath a clear blue sky reflects the sun in a mirage of light.

The City at Sunset

That’s the beauty of Ostuni. Old white houses on a hilltop that makes you feel like a wedding cake-topper exploring the topography of the surrounding whipped cream. The walk normally ends on the old city walls which reveal a panoramic view of the Adriatic coast.

White city Ostuni

Pictures from the narrow, labyrinthine streets of the old white city.

We have visited the white city Ostuni countless times in all seasons, but there is one attraction we have missed. That is standing by the sea looking up on Ostuni, while the sun sets and the colour changes from white to pink. It’s supposed to be an unforgettable sight, adding to the wealth of impressions that makes you remember Ostuni as more vision than reality.

The white city Ostuni seen from the coast

Ostuni is perched on a hilltop in safe distance from the sea.

Other places to visit near the white city Ostuni

The trulli in Alberobello: A perfect fairy tale setting

White towns in Puglia

Mummies in Oria – Grinning skeletons in all year parade

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28 replies
  1. Freya
    Freya says:
    May 11, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    Ostuni looks absolutely gorgeous ! This article makes we want to visit Italy again ASAP

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 12, 2014 at 6:28 pm

      It’s got plenty of charm of the uneventful sort.

      Reply
  2. Sophie
    Sophie says:
    May 11, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Looks very pretty; reminds me a little of a Greek island.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 12, 2014 at 6:30 pm

      It reminds me of Greece as well. And Spain and Turkey. I suppose that’s what I like so much about this part of Italy.

      Reply
  3. Maria Falvey
    Maria Falvey says:
    May 12, 2014 at 1:09 am

    I want to sit, see, then close my eyes and listen, smell and be.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 12, 2014 at 6:34 pm

      That’s the absolute best approach. There’s not a lot more to do there.

      Reply
  4. Mary {The World Is A Book}
    Mary {The World Is A Book} says:
    May 12, 2014 at 8:17 am

    Wow, Ostuni looks like such a wonderful place to visit. It does look like pictures of the Greek islands. I can just imagine how beautiful this must look when the color changes. Beautiful!

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 12, 2014 at 6:34 pm

      Back in history this area has been Greek, so the similarity is understandable.

      Reply
  5. Muza-chan
    Muza-chan says:
    May 12, 2014 at 9:11 am

    Very beautiful city :)

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 12, 2014 at 6:35 pm

      I think so too.

      Reply
  6. Marcia
    Marcia says:
    May 12, 2014 at 12:30 pm

    Beautiful description of a hurt-your-eyes- beautiful town. I could get lost there.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 12, 2014 at 6:36 pm

      Me too, but I tend to find my way back to reality after an hour or so.

      Reply
  7. Agata
    Agata says:
    May 12, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    Amazing views! I have never been there but it surely looks like Puglia has so many to offer!

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 14, 2014 at 5:00 pm

      Absolutely.

      Reply
  8. memographer
    memographer says:
    May 13, 2014 at 12:50 am

    Reminds me Greek architecture. Since the city is close to the Adriatic, it could be same heritage.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 14, 2014 at 5:02 pm

      All of Salento has been part of Greece for centuries – before the Romans took over.

      Reply
  9. A Lady in London
    A Lady in London says:
    May 13, 2014 at 12:52 pm

    Great post! Looks like a good place to visit.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 14, 2014 at 5:03 pm

      It’s highly recommended.

      Reply
  10. Leigh
    Leigh says:
    May 13, 2014 at 10:55 pm

    They remind me a little of the white villages of Andalucia but more blindingly white. Looks like a great spot to visit.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 14, 2014 at 5:07 pm

      Well, the area has been under Spanish dominion too, so the white towns in Puglia and Andalucia are related. In Puglia we just don’t have as many ceramic tiles.

      Reply
  11. Sara Chukoian @Green Travel Review
    Sara Chukoian @Green Travel Review says:
    May 14, 2014 at 1:00 am

    Great post. The views look incredible. I would love to visit! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      May 14, 2014 at 5:08 pm

      Yes, you can easily spend an hour or too gazing out over the sea.

      Reply
  12. Taylor Hearts Travel
    Taylor Hearts Travel says:
    August 18, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    Ah, I love this beautiful part of Puglia. I visited earlier in the year and saw it quite late night. Wandering down (and up!) the lanes was romantic. However, I’d love to go back and see the sun set here.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      August 24, 2014 at 2:54 pm

      The views from town are pointing east, so you’ll have a hard time looking for the sunset, but I’m sure you can find scores of romance anyway.

      Reply
  13. Turkey's For Life
    Turkey's For Life says:
    May 11, 2015 at 8:55 am

    Well in that case, we hope you get to view the sunset over the city, then. Looks like an amazing place but I bet the pink and the shadows from the sunset are unforgettable. :)
    Julia

    Reply
    • Mette Vaabengaard
      Mette Vaabengaard says:
      May 11, 2015 at 6:06 pm

      I’m sure I do. Eventually. Ostuni is quite close to our ‘home’ in Italy, but as you probably know, the near-by sights are often postponed indefinitely, because we can always do them tomorrow.

      Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Apulia: The blinding white city Ostuni | Travel... says:
    June 1, 2014 at 12:47 pm

    […] The white city Ostuni near Brindisi in Puglia is the kind of place that sticks in your memory like a vision.The white city Ostuni near Brindisi in Puglia is the kind of place that sticks in your memory along with Arcady and Alice’s Wonderland. A town so simple and peaceful it hurts the eyes.[…]  […]

    Reply
  2. Apulia: The blinding white city Ostuni | Italia... says:
    May 11, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    […] The white city Ostuni near Brindisi in Puglia is the kind of place that sticks in your memory like a vision.The white city Ostuni near Brindisi in Puglia is the kind of place that sticks in your memory along with Arcady and Alice’s Wonderland. A town so simple and peaceful it hurts the eyes.[…]  […]

    Reply

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