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.
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.
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.
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.
Ostuni is perched on a hilltop in safe distance from the sea.
Ostuni looks absolutely gorgeous ! This article makes we want to visit Italy again ASAP
It’s got plenty of charm of the uneventful sort.
Looks very pretty; reminds me a little of a Greek island.
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.
I want to sit, see, then close my eyes and listen, smell and be.
That’s the absolute best approach. There’s not a lot more to do there.
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!
Back in history this area has been Greek, so the similarity is understandable.
Very beautiful city :)
I think so too.
Beautiful description of a hurt-your-eyes- beautiful town. I could get lost there.
Me too, but I tend to find my way back to reality after an hour or so.
Amazing views! I have never been there but it surely looks like Puglia has so many to offer!
Absolutely.
Reminds me Greek architecture. Since the city is close to the Adriatic, it could be same heritage.
All of Salento has been part of Greece for centuries – before the Romans took over.
Great post! Looks like a good place to visit.
It’s highly recommended.
They remind me a little of the white villages of Andalucia but more blindingly white. Looks like a great spot to visit.
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.
Great post. The views look incredible. I would love to visit! Thank you for sharing!
Yes, you can easily spend an hour or too gazing out over the sea.
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.
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.
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
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.