Arrive before the heat. The road up from the coast is short, but the town rewards a slow approach — park below the walls and climb through the arches as the bakers finish their first batch.
Ostuni is whitewashed for a reason older than photography: lime kept the plague out, and now it keeps the light in. By eleven the piazza belongs to the cats, and you should belong to a table in the shade.
Lime kept the plague out; now it keeps the light in.
Begin below the walls
The pleasure is in getting slightly lost. Follow the cooler alleys uphill, pass the cathedral once, then circle back when the stone turns honey-coloured in the late afternoon.
For lunch, skip anything with a laminated menu. The osteria behind the cathedral serves orecchiette con cime di rapa until the pot is empty — usually around one-thirty.