If you walk into the old streets of Ostuni from the modern town, you could easily end up spending all your time in that white-washed maze. But there is a completely different side to this hilltown. Around its walls runs a wide paved path giving views over the valley below to the sea, and also a new perspective of the town itself. Rather than cramped and antique, as it is from within, Ostuni from the outside is a gleaming white hulk rising from the rock below. The coloured roofs of the towns churches which are so impressive from inside are just another detail amongst the myriad windows, arches and chimneys. Suddenly Ostuni is not a quaint old-fashioned town but a fortress, exactly as it was intended.

There are a number of ways to get down to the walls but once there the pathway that runs alongside them is the best way to see everything. At the easterly end is a rather sad view of bars, grafitti and rubbish amonst the rocks, but this soon changes into a pleasant broad walkway. It’s interesting to see the different styles of the buildings that make up the town. All styles seem to be represented, all in white, from crumbling old buildings, through to patched-up homes and even brand-new flats with balconies jutting out. At the other end is a great, gently-sloping stairway leading back into the town.

Be sure to stop along the way to take it all in. There are plenty of spots to stop and admire.

(Source: tripwolf.com)