Ostuni description and photos - Italy: Apulia (Topic)

Ostuni description and photos - Italy: Apulia. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Ostuni.

Photo and description

Ostuni is a small town in the Brindisi province with a population of about 32 thousand people. It is located 8 km from the coast. Numerous tourists who provide income for local residents are attracted here by luxurious beaches with crystal clear waters and white sand. The cultivation of olives and grapes is also developed.

The area around Ostuni has been inhabited since the Stone Age. It is believed that the first inhabitants of these places were the Messap tribes. Their settlement was destroyed by Hannibal during the Punic Wars. Then the Greeks appeared here, who rebuilt a new colony and gave it the name Ostuni, which in Greek means “new city”.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ostuni was plundered and in 996 became part of the Norman county of Lecce. From 1300 to 1463, the city was subordinated to Taranto, and in 1507 it passed to Isabella, Duchess of Bari, wife of the Duke of Milan, Giangaleazzo Sforza. It was during the reign of Isabella that Ostuni experienced a flourishing social and cultural life. After her death, the city became the property of her daughter Bona Sforza, wife of the Polish king Sigismund II. Bona continued her mother's work and in every possible way contributed to the development of liberal ideas. In 1539, by her order, observation towers were built along the entire coast to protect against attacks by Turkish pirates who controlled the Balkan Peninsula in those years. The towers of Pozzella, Pilon, Villanova and a number of others have survived to this day.

The so-called Old Ostuni is a city citadel built on a hilltop and still surrounded by ancient walls. The city itself often called Citta Bianca - White City, it is considered the architectural gem of southern Italy. Its most famous monuments are the Cathedral and Palazzo Veskovile. On the narrow medieval streets there are numerous aristocratic palaces that once belonged to noble families - Aurisicchio, Ayroldi, Bisantizzi, Falgieri, Gyonda, Giovine, Marsella, Moreau, Palmieri, etc.

In the vicinity of Ostuni, you can still see typical Apulian "masseria" - fortified farms, one of which, San Domenico, was once the property of the Order of Malta.

In the summer, Ostuni becomes a popular tourist resort, and its population grows from 30 to 100 thousand people!

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Topic: Ostuni description and photos - Italy: Apulia.