centro storico, di crinale, difensivo, agricolo, Ostuni

On the last spur of the southern Murge, Ostuni’s old town perches atop a steep hill, its highest point 229 metres above sea level. This is a Norman borgo of clear, deliberate form: an ellipsoidal plan expressed by its defensive walls, once reinforced by fifteen Aragonese towers, of which eight remain. The name is said to derive from the Greek Astu-neon, new city, built upon an older settlement. Its medieval development resists easy reconstruction, but integrated study of sources reveals broad urbanistic trends. In the early Middle Ages, a perimeter fortification enclosed the hilltop, where the cathedral and bishop’s palace became the twin poles of civic life. The main road accordingly runs from the southern gate up towards this summit, a spine shaped by religious authority. Later streets, laid out during phases of expansion, echo this logic. A consolidated city bounded by natural and artificial edges, Ostuni is a place of cult, craft, military and domestic functions, its whitewashed lanes still climbing the ridge as they always have.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.