Ostuni
Encyclopedia
Ostuni is a city and comune
in the province of Brindisi
(Puglia, Italy
), with a population of about 32,000 located about 8 km from the coast. Its main economic activities include tourism, attracted by its nearby pristine beaches, as well as a vibrant olive and grape agribusiness.
. 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 the Greeks, the name Ostuni deriving 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 it was part of the Principality of Taranto
and from 1507 (together with Villanova
and Grottaglie
) passed to Isabella, Duchess of Bari
, wife of Gian Galeazzo Sforza
, Duke of Milan
. Under the influence of Isabella, Ostuni enjoyed a golden-age within the wider panorama of the Italian Renaissance
. In this period Isabella gave protection to 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
. During Bona Sforza
's government, Ostuni continued to enjoyed a liberal and magnanimous regime. In 1539 she had towers built along all the shoreline, as protection against anticipated attacks from the Turks who controlled the Balkans. These towers (still existing, including Pozzella Tower, the Pylon, Villanova and others), were permanently garrisoned and communicated through fire beacons.
) 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, together with a number of palazzi of local aristocratic families: Aurisicchio, Ayroldi, Bisantizzi, Falghieri, Ghionda, Giovine, Jurleo, Marseglia, Moro, Palmieri, Petrarolo, Siccoda, Urselli, Zaccaria.
In the surrounding countryside there are typical Pugliese "masserie", fortified large estate-farms, one of which, San Domenico, was once held by the Knights of Malta
.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Brindisi
Province of Brindisi
The Province of Brindisi is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. Surrounded by vineyards and artichoke fields, Brindisi is a major sailing port for the southern part of Italy....
(Puglia, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), with a population of about 32,000 located about 8 km from the coast. Its main economic activities include tourism, attracted by its nearby pristine beaches, as well as a vibrant olive and grape agribusiness.
History
The region around Ostuni has been inhabited since the Stone ageStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
. The town is reputed to have been originally established by the Messapii
Messapii
thumb|220px|Messapic ceramic, Archaeological Museum of [[Oria, Italy|Oria]], Apulia.The Messapii were an ancient tribe that inhabited, in historical times, the south-eastern peninsula or "heel" of Italy , known variously in ancient times as Calabria, Messapia and Iapygia...
, a pre-classic tribe, and destroyed by Hannibal during the Punic Wars
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 B.C.E. to 146 B.C.E. At the time, they were probably the largest wars that had ever taken place...
. It was then re-built by the Greeks, the name Ostuni deriving 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
Lecce
Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...
. From 1300 to 1463 it was part of the Principality of Taranto
Principality of Taranto
The Principality of Taranto was a state in southern Italy created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Apulia....
and from 1507 (together with Villanova
Villanova
Villanova may refer to:In botany:*Villanova, a genus of plants in the family Phyllanthaceae, an invalid name replaced by Flueggea, or bushweed*Villanova , a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae.In education:*St...
and Grottaglie
Grottaglie
Grottaglie is a town and comune in the province of Taranto, Puglia, southern Italy.-Geography:Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, a whole rock of limestone dividing Adriatic sea from Ionian sea. The countryside around the city is scattered with vast and deep ravines that open the ground...
) passed to Isabella, Duchess of Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, wife of Gian Galeazzo Sforza
Gian Galeazzo Sforza
Gian Galeazzo Sforza was the sixth Duke of Milan.Born in Abbiategrasso, he was only 7 years old when in 1476 his father, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, was assassinated and Gian Galeazzo became the Duke of Milan...
, Duke of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. Under the influence of Isabella, Ostuni enjoyed a golden-age within the wider panorama of the Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
. In this period Isabella gave protection to 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
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza was a member of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza. In 1518, she became the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and became the Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania.She was the third child of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife...
, wife-to-be of Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...
, King of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. During Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza was a member of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza. In 1518, she became the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and became the Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania.She was the third child of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife...
's government, Ostuni continued to enjoyed a liberal and magnanimous regime. In 1539 she had towers built along all the shoreline, as protection against anticipated attacks from the Turks who controlled the Balkans. These towers (still existing, including Pozzella Tower, the Pylon, Villanova and others), were permanently garrisoned and communicated through fire beacons.
Main sights
The so-called "Old Town" is Ostuni's citadel built on top of a hill and still fortified by the ancient walls. Ostuni is regarded as an architectural jewel, and is commonly referred to as "the White Town" ("La Città Bianca", in ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) 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, together with a number of palazzi of local aristocratic families: Aurisicchio, Ayroldi, Bisantizzi, Falghieri, Ghionda, Giovine, Jurleo, Marseglia, Moro, Palmieri, Petrarolo, Siccoda, Urselli, Zaccaria.
In the surrounding countryside there are typical Pugliese "masserie", fortified large estate-farms, one of which, San Domenico, was once held by the Knights of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
.