Ostuni

Cascading down a limestone hill like a frozen waterfall, Ostuni’s centro storico earns its epithet “La Città Bianca” from the blinding white lime wash that has clad its cubist houses for centuries — originally a pragmatic defense against the summer sun and plague. A labyrinth of arched alleyways (vicoli), stairways, and flower-draped balconies leads to the 15th-century Cathedral, its rose window a masterpiece of Apulian Gothic, and the adjoining Bishop’s Palace. Every turn frames a vignette: geraniums spilling from terracotta pots, wrought-iron lanterns, sudden vistas over a sea of ancient olive groves to the Adriatic. At dusk, the whitewashed walls absorb the amber light, glowing like burnished pearl — a photographer’s dream and a romantic’s refuge.