Ostuni, 40km northwest of Brindisi (just 35 minutes by train), is known as the “White City” and is easily one of southern Italy’s most striking small towns. Spread across three hills at the southern edge of Le Murge, it was a key Greco-Roman city as early as the first century AD.
The old town, perched on the highest hill, is a maze of sun-bleached streets and cobbled alleyways that seem to glow against the landscape. Just 7km away, Blue Flag beaches line the coast. As part of an Italy culinary trip, Ostuni offers the perfect blend of hilltop beauty, coastal charm, and rustic Apulian cuisine served in tucked-away trattorias.
This hilltop town rewards slow exploration, with a maze of winding streets, sudden Baroque details, and wide views from Largo Castello over the woods to the north. Piazza della Libertà, also known as Piazza Sant’Oronzo, forms the natural gathering point, marked by a 21-meter eighteenth-century obelisk dedicated to St. Oronzo. On summer Saturday nights, the square fills with people arriving from the surrounding countryside to meet friends and crowd into the bars and cafés.
From the square, Via Cattedrale climbs past palaces and churches toward the fifteenth-century Duomo, set in a charming piazza framed by the Palazzo Vescovile and Palazzo del Seminario. Along the way, the Chiesa di San Vito houses an ethnography museum whose standout exhibit is “Delia,” the decorated skeleton of a young pregnant woman found in a crouched burial position. For 12-day Italy trips that include Puglia, this stop adds a compact but memorable mix of old-town atmosphere, local evening life, views, and unusual historical detail without requiring a long detour.
Top image: Panoramic view of Ostuni, Puglia, Italy © Miti74/Shutterstock
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