Puglia · Brindisi
Ostuni
The Città Bianca on three hills, eight kilometers inland, whitewashed against the Murge above an Adriatic plain of olive trees.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Ostuni is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu and Spighe Verdi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 9 min from Lecce
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 29,943
- J12°
- F14°
- M14°
- A17°
- M23°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S27°
- O22°
- N17°
- D14°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Ostuni sits on three hills above the Adriatic coastal plain, eight kilometers inland in the southeastern Murge. The whitewashing that gives it the name Città Bianca is medieval in origin, a hygienic measure against plague that survived as the local building convention; the entire centro storico is painted white in lime every spring and reads as a single bright mass from the surrounding olive country. The territory has been inhabited since the Paleolithic; the Messapii founded the urban nucleus before the Romans absorbed the region.
In 1507 it passed to Isabella, Duchess of Bari, then to her daughter Bona Sforza, queen of Poland, who fortified the coast with watchtowers against Ottoman raids in 1539. The Cattedrale, a late-Gothic facade with a rose window of twenty-four rays, anchors the upper town. The olive landscape around the commune holds some of the oldest cultivated trees in the Mediterranean.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 1 h 29 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 4 h 23 min away.
By car from the center of Lecce 1 h 9 min, Bari 1 h 17 min or Salerno 4 h 15 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bari?
Coming by train into Taranto? Ostuni is about 1 h 1 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bari airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Late fifteenth-century Gothic cathedral at the highest point of the centro storico, with a rose window of twenty-four rays unique in Puglia.
Centro storico
Whitewashed old town on three hills, lime-painted every spring against plague tradition, the single bright mass that names the Città Bianca.
Piazza della Libertà
Lower civic square outside the medieval walls, with the Guglia di Sant'Oronzo, an early eighteenth-century baroque obelisk to the patron saint.
Museo di Civiltà Preclassiche della Murgia Meridionale
Archaeological museum in the centro storico, holds Delia, the 25,000-year-old skeleton of a pregnant woman found in a Murge cave.
Piana degli Ulivi Monumentali
Surrounding olive plain with thousands of monumental trees, some over a thousand years old, the protected Puglia olive heritage zone.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
CieloRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100) for Cielo, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Masseria Le CarrubeVegetariano
Masseria Le Carrube has a Gambero Rosso listing to its name.
Masseria MorosetaRistorante
Masseria Moroseta carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
6 more places the guides name in Ostuni
Osteria Piazzetta CattedraleRistorante
Osteria Piazzetta Cattedrale holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Osteria RicanattiRistorante
Osteria Ricanatti has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Restaurant 700Ristorante
Restaurant 700 holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Paragon 700 Boutique Hotel & SPAHotel
Paragon 700 Boutique Hotel & SPA carries one Michelin Key, plus a La Liste score of 90.
La Sommita RelaisHotel
A place in the Michelin hotel guide, at La Sommita Relais.
VISTA OstuniHotel
A Leading Hotels of the World listing, at VISTA Ostuni.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Ostuni meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 29,943 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Brindisi, a city of 81,723, is 47 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 29,943, down 5.8% since 2015
- Nearest city Brindisi, 47 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes across the comune: €850 to €2,000 per m² to buy, €4.00 to €8.50 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 31% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Brindisi airport (BDS), 39 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bari, 1 h 17 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Romania and the United Kingdom, against 9% across Italy. 358 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands. There are 285 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 56% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Brindisi province ranks 88th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Martina Franca, 24 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 444 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 31 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.5% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: check before you count on it. The limit rose to 30,000 people in April 2026 and guidance is still to come. The regime is for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Puglia spends about €1,500 a month, €440 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €545 a year for water, on the Puglia average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, under 1% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
CITTÀ BIANCA
Whitewashed centro storico on three hills, lime-painted every spring since medieval plague measures, the single defining image of the town.
OLIVE PLAIN
Surrounding plain of monumental olive trees, some over a thousand years old, the largest concentration of ancient cultivated olives in the Mediterranean.
GOTHIC CATHEDRAL
Late fifteenth-century cathedral at the top of the centro storico, with a rose window of twenty-four rays unique in southern Italy.
Common questions
- What is Ostuni known for?
- Ostuni is the Città Bianca on three hills at 218 meters, eight kilometers inland, whitewashed against the Murge above an Adriatic plain of olive trees.
- Where is Ostuni?
- Ostuni is a comune in the province of Brindisi, in Puglia.
- What is the nearest airport to Ostuni?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Brindisi (BDS), about 39 min by car.
- Can you get to Ostuni without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Lecce to Ostuni?
- About 1 h 9 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ostuni?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Ostuni?
- Conversano, Castellana Grotte and Martina Franca.
- How many people live in Ostuni?
- 29,943 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Ostuni a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Ostuni is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Brindisi, is 47 min away by car. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 31% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 218 m
- Population: 29,943
- Surface area: 225.56 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Ostuni appears in
- The best beach towns worth staying overnight in PugliaPugliaclean beachworth staying overnight6 towns · smallest 17,353 residents
- The best hill towns inside a nature park in PugliaPugliahill towninside a park6 towns · smallest 7,926 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that sit inside a nature park in PugliaPugliainside a parkserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 5,566 residents
- The 7 best beach towns inside a nature park in PugliaPugliaclean beachinside a park7 towns · smallest 11,891 residents
- The 7 best towns worth staying overnight that you can reach by train within 90 minutes of TarantoNear Tarantoby trainwithin 90 minworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 11,906 residents · closest 38 min away
- The best hill towns worth staying overnight in PugliaPugliahill townworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 11,040 residents
Featured on
Ostuni appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Instead of Ostuni: hill towns and coastal towns within 75 minutes
Similar
Towns like Ostuni
What all six share with Ostuni: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
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