Tre Città Pittoresche

Postcard of Ostuni

View from our cafe in Ostuni

We chose not to rent a car here. After talking to several people who regretted hiring their car due to narrow streets, crazy traffic and lack of parking, we felt we made a good decision. We therefore opted to take a day tour of three gorgeous little towns in the surrounding area. 

The first town was Ostuni, La Città Bianca. This whitewashed hill town dates back to medieval times, but what is seen today was probably started around 1400. Sitting above the Adriatic,  it offers fabulous views which explains why its population jumps from 32,000 to close to 200,000 in high season. Of course, its wonderful olive oil and inexpensive but delicious wine also help attract visitors.

Our next stop was to the town of Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are almost 1500 stone structures called "trulli", "trullo" in the singular. These structures date back to the 14th century and were originally used by farmers as temporary field storeage, but are now used as holiday rentals, shops and, in some cases, permanent homes. A trullo is built using a method that is thousands of years old...dry stone placed carefully without the use of mortar...drystone construction...using limestone found in the area. Roofs are all conical. The base is then white-washed and mythological or religious symbols are painted on the roof to protect the structure from evil spirits.  Each conical roof covers one room. Trulli have been updated by building homes and shops around the original structure.

A wedding...more dancing in the streets.

Our third stop was the town of Polignano a Mare, a vacation spot on the Adriatic. 

Polignano also has spectacular views and is the home of Domenico Modugno, the songwriter and performer of what some say is Italy's theme song, "Volare".

All three towns are quite touristy and even now were quite crowded.  We were still quite happy that we spent a day exploring just a little bit more of Italy.