Ostuni (Greek: Neonasty) is a small city in the province of Brindisi (Puglia, Italy), with a population of about 32,000 situated about 8 km from the coast. Its main economic activities include tourism, known for its nearby pristine beaches, as well as a vibrant olive and grape agribusiness.
Ostuni's area has been inhabited since the Stone age. The town is reputed to have been originally established by the Messapii, a pre-classic tribe, and destroyed by Hannibal during the Punic Wars. It was then re-built by Greek colons, since the current name derives from the Greek Astu néon ("new town").
Sacked after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in 996 AD the town became part of the Norman County of Lecce. From 1300 to 1463 was part of the Principality of Taranto and from 1507 (together with Villanova and Grottaglie) passed to the Dukedom of Bari of Isabella, wife to Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan. Under the lordship of Isabella, Ostuni enjoyed a golden-age within the wider panorama of the Italian Renaissance age. In this period Isabella took under her protection humanists and people of art and letters, including bishop Giovanni Bovio. Isabella died in 1524 and Ostuni passed as dowry to her daughter Bona Sforza, wife-to-be of Sigismund II Augustus King of Poland. Also during Bona Sforza's government, Ostuni enjoyed a liberal and magnanimous regimen. In particular, in 1539 she had towers built along all the shoreline, in order to prevent eventual attacks from the Turks controlling the Balkans. These towers (still existing, incl. Pozzella Tower, the Pylon, Villanova and much more), were permanently garrisoned and communicated through ignited bonfire.
The so-called "Old Town" is Ostuni's citadel build on the top of a hill and still fortified with the ancient walls. Ostuni is reputed an architectural jewel, and is commonly referred to as "the White Town" ("La Città Bianca", in Italian) for its white walls and its typically white-painted architecture. A monument on its own, the town's largest buildings are the Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace, alongside with a few palazzi of some of the aristocratic families of the region: Aurisicchio, Ayroldi, Bisantizzi, Falghieri, Ghionda, Giovine, Jurleo, Marseglia, Moro, Palmieri, Petrarolo, Siccoda, Urselli, Zaccaria.
Outside the town, in the country's landscape there is the typical presence of the Pugliese "masserie", fortified large estate-farms, among which San Domenico, a masseria once held by the Knights of Malta.
In the summertime Ostuni is a famous destination for tourists from all over the country and from abroad. The population rises from about 30.000 inhabitants in wintertime to about 100.000.
