Ostuni

Also known as the “White City,” “la Terra,” the “Nativity Scene City” and the “Queen of the Olive Trees,” Ostuni is a town of 32,000 people in the province of Brindisi. It stands on three hills, where the Murge plateau meets the Adriatic Sea, and was founded by the Messapians in the 1st century BC.

It's easy to see where all these names come from. The first three are tied to the most striking feature of this picturesque town: the milk-white color of its buildings. That feature belongs, of course, to the oldest part of town, the historic center.

The Old Town can be seen in all its splendor even from far away, since it sits on the highest hill and has an unusual cone shape, studded with gleaming white buildings. Small wonder that the almost fairy-tale look of the place earned it, over time, the name “Nativity Scene City.”

The only street that takes you up to the top of the hill is Via Cattedrale, named after what you find at its end: the cathedral, now officially a co-cathedral basilica (Ostuni shares its diocese with Brindisi). The fairy tale goes on in a maze of alleys and lanes, with steep climbs, little souvenir shops, homes, history and places to eat and drink.

But where does all this white come from? The story goes back to the 17th century, when Philip IV of Habsburg sold Ostuni and the surrounding lands to a tyrannical Spanish family, the Zavellos. Sadly, the plague broke out at that time. Ostuni and its people survived, and their weapon was limewash, used to whiten the buildings. Lime is a natural disinfectant, and it kept the disease from spreading.

According to legend, the town was also saved thanks to Saint Orontius, who, together with Saint Blaise, is Ostuni's patron saint. All the more reason why the best-known and most important events of this Apulian town are devoted to its two patron saints.

Saint Blaise is celebrated on February 3. Above all, the procession to his sanctuary (4 km from town) is famous. Tradition has the priest wet the throat of the saint's statue with holy water and then touch the throats of the faithful gathered there: Saint Blaise is, in fact, the protector against sore throats.

Saint Orontius is celebrated from August 24 to 27. Don't miss the cavalcade on August 26, loved by young and old, with horses and riders in period costume. With fairs, music and fireworks, it's a heartfelt and carefully staged event.

But Ostuni is about much more than tradition. Being so close to the sea also makes it a seaside town, with 17 km of sandy coastline and clear, clean water. These shores, Blue Flag every one, make Ostuni one of Italy's most popular beach destinations.

Between the sea and enchanting countryside, the land around Ostuni is covered in vast olive groves (no coincidence that Ostuni is also called the “Queen of the Olive Trees”), which produce the PDO extra virgin olive oil that is the pride of the local cuisine.

In the many “masserie,” the farmhouses that dot the countryside outside town, you can taste the finest Apulian cooking, famous the world over: “orecchiette” (here the typical shape is the dome-shaped “stacchiodde”), cheeses such as cacioricotta and ricotta forte, shellfish and oily fish (which the Adriatic has in abundance), and the various traditional sweets made with dried fruit and nuts (such as “fichi maritati,” “married figs”).

If you'd like to spend a “fairy-tale” day, Ostuni is definitely the town for you!