Ostuni, the White City

Ostuni, known as the White City for the shape and whiteness of the houses constituting the ancient core, is an authentic and inimitable example of Mediterranean architecture. The city includes a historic nucleus, the La Terra district, with its circular urban structure, which is developed around the Cathedral and is still surrounded by the 15th-century Aragonese bastions, and the new residential areas built along the slopes of this murgian terrace overlooking the plain of centuries-old olive trees in Puglia.

The hill, the plain, the sea. It is a fertile and intensely cultivated area, between the Adriatic coast and the hilly Murgia hinterland. The hill, formed by the white calcareous rock on which a thin layer of red earth is laid, gives rise to a gently undulating landscape of singular beauty where as far as the eye can see ancient olive groves, with terraces, wide valleys, caves and panoramas they range on the nearby coast. There are no rivers, rainwater infiltrates the meanderings of the rock, creating underground waterways. Near the sea the water re-emerges in sources of fresh water.

The coastline stretches along the Adriatic Sea and is characterized by the succession of natural inlets, sandy beaches, cliffs that are reflected in a clear sea, blue, clean and fishy. Despite the presence of receptive settlements to host the numerous tourists, coastal stretches of remarkable scenic and natural beauty survive strongly.
The dunes between Torre Canne and Torre San Leonardo are recognized as Regional Nature Reserve and offer the possibility of bathing on long sandy shores between the high dunes covered with junipers.

Adjacent to the coast of Ostuni is the Natural Reserve of the State of Torre Guaceto, in the countryside of Carovigno, a naturalistic area of about 1100 hectares, declared of international interest. The beautiful swamp is home to marshes and dunes with Mediterranean vegetation and is home to a very rich fauna, especially water migratory birds that stay and reproduce here.

Ostuni, Blue Flag

Ostuni is one of the major tourist attractions of international level: a coastal beauty with miles of white beaches and immersed in the Mediterranean, alternating with small inlets and high and jagged cliffs, clear and crystalline waters that for years assure Ostuni recognition of the Blue Flag, emblem of the quality of the water and seal of guarantee under the environmental aspect.Ostuni is one of the ten locations in Puglia to have received this recognition that allows tourists to have certainties about the cleanliness of the waters and beaches as well as the services offered for the holidays.