Ostuni is known as the white city of Salento for its ancient village entirely painted in white. It almost seems that every house, from the walls up to the roofs, is clothed in light: all the white of Ostuni is thanks to the lime painting, a custom born in the Middle Ages and an indelible feature of it for centuries.
The old town of Ostuni
Ostuni, about 40 km from the city of Brindisi, is a town perched on three hills overlooking the rural landscape of the Itria Valley and the Adriatic coast of Salento. In the tangle of alleys of the old city you go up and down, full and empty spaces alternate, you are surprised when the panorama opens up to see the sea. From Ostuni the sea is a handful of kilometers (8 km) and the whole coast is a succession of beaches, sandy coves and rocky inlets where you can enjoy the crystal clear water and Mediterranean nature.
It is a welcoming town that shows its beauty during the day, when the light is amplified by the white of every surface, while in the evening the atmosphere becomes much more suggestive. Whether you are in Ostuni for an aperitif or for a dinner, it is worth taking a walk along the old city walls (viale Oronzo Quaranta), perhaps going as far as the church of Santa Maria della Stella. It is a classical style church, set between the walls and the surrounding houses. The entrance to the church is located on a terrace overlooking the hillside that slopes down to the sea, while along the steps you can enter the streets of the village.
Continuing to walk along the walls, you can stop to observe the traces of the pointed arch that delimited the apse of the church of San Giacomo di Compostella (or Compostela), the oldest church in the white city, built around 1423.
Like this last church, the walls of the old city of Ostuni have also been remodeled over the centuries, but are still impressive and well preserved. The long stretches still visible date back to 1480, when the Aragonese had the walls reinforced to defend the city from Turkish invasions.
At the end of the walk you can stop in Piazza della Libertà, a reference point for those looking for restaurants or pubs in the city. Here there is another symbolic monument of the city of Ostuni, the spire of Sant’Oronzo. It is the "column", as the people of Ostuni call it, dedicated to the patron saint of the city, a monumental and exuberant architectural element for its Baroque decoration.
