White cities of Italy

The keyword? Purity. Voilà, ten Italian cities, where you need to put your sunglasses on even in the winter, because the blinding white of the buildings might come as a shock to our poorly trained retina. Most of these “white cities” can be found in Apulia (Puglia) or in Southern Italy in general, no wonder since locals try to protect themselves from the extreme heat in all possible ways.

OSTUNI

It is the most famous white city , enchanting its visitors near Brindisi, among three hills.  The whole old town is  whitewashed that is now precious to the eye, and in the 17th century saved the residents from plague.

LOCOROTONDO

Locorotondo is also situated in Puglia, in  Valled’Itriában (Itria-valley) , and just like in the case OStuni, the whole centro storico (old town) is covered with lime. You can take fantastic strolls here amongthe colourful flowers placed in the balconies of these white houses. In Italy it is very “in” to have your balcony loaded with plants (only mine looks more similar to the garden of Morticia Adams).   The streets of the city once were made of black lava rocks. Can you imagine  that chess table feeling? I have always told so that noone has more style than Italians.

CEGLIE MESSAPICA

In Ceglie Messapicában, like in other towns of beautiful Puglia,  white is the new black, which in this case should also serve as prevention from claustrophobic attacks in the narrow streets of this tiny little town.

MOLFETTA

This town, built of white limestone is close to the region’s capital, Bari. Its duomo, the church of San Corrado, built around 1150 is the most important masterpiece of  the Roman style in puglia. Its old town is of course white as snow interrupted only by the green of the shutters.

SIRACUSA

Not too much colour painting was wasted in this picture perfect Sicilian town. The cities oldest part, Ortigia is unforgettable for the combination of its white houses with the blue of the Mediterranian in the background. You cannot miss the Duomo in a wonderful square. No wonder Siracusa is a site of the UNESCO World Heritage.

ATRANI

Atrani with its surface of  0,12 km²is the smallest community of whole Italy, but who cares when it is just in the Amalfi-coast, facing the Tyrrhenian. Opposite to the other – colourful- townd of this coast , Atrani is dominated bz white. It is not as heavy as in Ostuni, but the difference is conspicuous.you should pay special attention to the white facade of the church of Santa Maria Maddalena.

ASCOLI PICENO

Ascoli Picenois the only Central Italian town that could make it to this list (and the North is completely missing) Ascoli Piceno is buillt on a rock and its most important square, the Piazza del Popolo is a perfect example of “white architecture” . The square is embraced by huge white palaces and often hosts markets.

LEVANZO

The smallest of the Egadi islands is simply incredibly beautiful. You can reach by a half an hour boat trip from Trapani and will find the perfect harmony of the white buildings and fifty shades of blue of the sea.

STROMBOLI

The smallest of the Lipari-islands, this archipelago situated in the middle of the Tyrrhenian sea between Calabria and Sicily. It is certainly not famous for the density of its population as it has only 400 residents living in the shadow of one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Life cannot be simple here in the middle of nowhere,but the improbable beauty of Stromboli, the beach covered by black lava, the view of the continuously smoking crater are worth the isolation.

ALBEROBELLO

Alberobello is the cherry on the cake.  This little village in Puglia is likely to come from a fairytale, or at least from the Smurfs cartoon. It is everuwhere, should you talk about white cities or UNESCO world heritages. Its white trullos (white huts with conical roofs) are an important  pull factor of the tourism of the area.