Ostuni, the white city

There are places where time holds its breath,where sunlight strokes the walls,and every breeze seems to carry ancient promises.

Nicknamed the Città Bianca, or the White City, Ostuni rises in the distance between olive and fig trees, overlooking the Adriatic Sea, dressed in white, its houses painted with lime.

The dazzling white walls, the blue sky, the green of the olive trees, the scent of jasmine and olive oil… everything invites you to slow down.

Founded in pre-Roman times, Ostuni bears the imprint of the Normans, the Aragonese, the Venetians.But make no mistake, Ostuni is earned. Its medieval old town is a tangled maze of cobbled alleys, stairways, arches, hidden piazzas and sea views, where sunrise and sunset feel like sacred moments.

So what do you do in Ostuni?

You slow down.

You get lost.

You climb.

You catch your breath.

You wander without a plan, you linger, you gather memories.

You eat well.

You stay longer than expected.

You sit down, you look around.

You take photos, you learn, you meet people.

Some say it looks like Greece. To me, it’s one of a kind. I know it by heart, and yet I’m always rediscovering it. Step after step, street after street, I walk it endlessly. You might think I’m always taking the same photos, but the light is never the same, and the scenes unfold endlessly.

In Ostuni, life feels gentle. You feel like you’re taking back control of time; this time that, elsewhere, never stops slipping through your fingers.

A mix of sunlight, stories, silence in the stone, and summers that stretch a little longer.

A presto,

Case in Puglia