HISTORY OF OSTUNI:
Ostuni was founded by the Messapians, an ancient Illyrian population that settled in the area in the 7th century BC. In the 3rd century BC, the town was conquered by the Romans. Read More [...]
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ostuni, as the rest of Italy, was crossed by the Ostrogoths, Lombards, Saracens, and later passed under the Byzantine domination.
Between the 11th and 12th centuries, the Normans conquered the Byzantine settlements in the area, and unified them under the Duchy of Apulia. In 1506, Ostuni passed to the Duchy of Bari ruled by Isabella of Aragon and by her daughter, Bona Sforza. Under the Spanish rule, the golden age of the city began, both from the economic and cultural point of view. During the Aragonese domination, Ostuni was surrounded by new walls with circular towers, and numerous palaces were built.
In the 17th century, Philip IV of Habsburg, King of Spain, sold the town to the Zevallo family, a family of merchants who treated the city as a personal fiefdom and oppressed the population. During this period, the plague raged in the area, but spared Ostuni because the whitewashed houses were protected by this natural disinfectant. This practice stopped the contagion and, over time, made the White City so spectacular.
GEOGRAPHY OF OSTUNI:
Ostuni is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants, part of the province of Brindisi and the Italian region of Apulia. The city stands on three hills with a maximum height of 218 meters, about 8 kilometers away from the Adriatic Coast. Read More [...]
Ostuni is located about 35 kilometers northwest of Brindisi, 37 kilometers southeast of Monopoli, 46 kilometers southeast of Polignano a Mare, 47 kilometers east of Taranto, 68 kilometers nortwest of Lecce, 78 kilometers southeast of Bari, 330 kilometers southeast of Naples, 465 kilometers northeast of Reggio Calabria, and about 510 kilometers southeast of Rome.
TRANSPORT TO OSTUNI:
The closest airport is the Karol Wojtyła Airport, located about 89 kilometers to the north, near Bari. Read More [...]
To get from the airport directly to Ostuni, you can take the train of the private company Ferrotramviaria (Ferrovie del Nord Barese) to the Bari Centrale FNB railway station, and then from the Bari Centrale railway station, located nearby, a Trenitalia train to the White City. The trip takes about one hour and a half, and a ticket costs 11.20€.
You can get to Ostuni by train, coming from Bari, or from Brindisi. From Bari, a trip takes almost an hour, and a ticket costs 6.10€. A trip from Brindisi takes about 20 minutes and the cheapest ticket costs 3.10€.
You must also know that the Ostuni railway station is located about 2.5 kilometers away from the old town, and you can reach the city by bus. A bus ticket costs 0.9€ at the ticket office and 1.5€ if bought on board.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN OSTUNI:
Ostuni is known as the White City (Città Bianca), because of the bright white buildings which make up the old town. The city is a maze of streets, staircases, buildings and arches, and the best way to feel Ostuni is to get lost in it. Read More [...]
Besides the white surrounding wall, the most important attractions of the city are the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, built in Gothic style in the 15th century, the nearby Palazzo Vescovile and Palazzo del Seminario, joined by an elegant arched Loggia, the Church of San Francesco d’Assisi, the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Grata, the Church of Santa Maria della Stella, the Church of Santa Maria del Monte Carmelo, the Spire of Sant'Oronzo, and the main square of the town, Piazza della Libertà.