TOWNS TO VISIT
TOURS
Awarded as one of the most beautiful Italian town
LOCOROTONDO
The name itself shows the distinctive circular shape of the ancient centre of the town, built around 1000 b.C., consisting of a group of houses that farmers built on top of the hill, including the typical "cummerse", houses with a sloping roof.
Among the white houses in the old town centre are the bell towers of the many churches, including the Churches of Our Lady of Sorrow, Holy Spirit, St. Nicholas, St. Rocco and Madonna della Catena. Inside Santa Maria della Greca Church there is a Renaissance polyptych dedicated to the Madonna delle Rose and the sculptural group of St. George on horseback. From Vittorio Emanuele Square, where two great nineteenth-century pillars identify the ancient Porta Napoli, a path follows with the Town Hall, now municipal library hours (late XVIII century), the baroque Morelli Palace with its splendid portal and balconies with wrought-iron railings and, later on, the Mother Church.
- San Giorgio’s Church
- Madonna della Greca’s Church
- Morelli Palace
- Itria Valley Eco-museum
Distance from Ottolire Resort: 5,7 Km / 11m (by car)
Town of reception and accessibility
CISTERNINO
Cisternino is proud of its Orange Flag, the environmental tourism quality mark by the Italian Touring Club for small inland towns that stand out for their excellent offer and quality hospitality. Cisternino is marked by good accessibility and management of internal roads. The most important access point to the old part of Cisternino is Porta Grande. The medieval town has remained almost intact and you can dive into the authentic atmosphere of the four districts called "Bère Vécchie", "Scheledd", "U Pantène", "L'ìsule", plus the outer one, called " u Bùrie "; they create a small labyrinth of streets and open spaces where whitewashed houses alternate with alleys adorned with geraniums, stairways, loggias and arches.
- San Nicola di Pàtara’s Church
- Itria Valley Botanical Conservatory
- Amati Tower
- Capece Tower (or del Vanto Tower)
- Norman Tower of Porta Grande
- Governor's Palace
- Specchia di Cisternino
Distance from Ottolire Resort: 6,1 Km / 9m (by car)
Town of casedde, trulli and manor farms
MARTINA FRANCA
Located on the eastern hills of Murgia plateau with the same distance from the Ionian and the Adriatic Sea, Martina Franca derives its name in part from the devotion to San Martino, who saved his inhabitants from enemy invasions, and in part to the times when Philip I offered to its inhabitants exemptions on the payment of taxes. The town, one of the most populous of the Taranto’s province, is a melting pot of history and art.
- San Martino’s Cathedral
- Ducal Palace
- Carmine’s Church
- Martucci Palace
Distance from Ottolire Resort: 11,3 Km / 18m (by car)
Town of Trulli
ALBEROBELLO
Town in Itria Valley and Murgia pleateau. Famous for its typical houses called trulli that, from 5th December 1996, are UNESCO heritage and included in the World Heritage List with the following reason: "exceptional typology, living continuity, survival of a construction culture of prehistoric origin…"
In particular, the Monti and Aia Piccola districts represent the most striking and ancient districts. The inhabited areas of the Monti district are now dedicated to commercial activities, while in the Aia Piccola district the houses have been preserved by the action of man and it is possible to immerse completely in history and in ancient traditions. Do not miss the Siamese trulli and the Sovereign trullo, which represents the maximum design capacity achieved for trullo constructions and, at the same time, inaugurates the new construction "cotto" phase, i.e. with the use of mortar.
- Trulli (Siamese Trulli e Sovereign Trullo)
- Red House, Museum-Memorial of Southern Italy Shoah
- Saints Saints Cosmas and Damian’s Sanctuary
- St. Antonio’s Church
Distance from Ottolire Resort: 14,8 Km / 23m (by car)
The white town
OSTUNI
The urban identity of Ostuni lies in its ancient village, "La Terra" (The Land), as defined by the citizens. Unmistakable agglomeration that stands out on the highest hill of the urban area: painted only white and marked by a multiplication of floors, narrow streets and stairways that intersect arches and squares, cubicular houses, often carved into the rock.
The whitewashed houses and the peculiar topography have given it fairy-tale epithets, such as White Town, Queen of Olive Trees and the Crib Town. Once you reach the highest part you can admire the beauties of the Cathedral and the Episcopal Palace.
- Santa Maria dell’Assunzione’s Cathedral
- Episcopal Palace
- Civic Museum and Archaeological Park
- Regional Natural Reserve
- San Giacomo di Compostela’s Church
- St. Francis of Assisi’s Church
Distance from Ottolire Resort: 24,2 Km / 30m (by car)
From the grave to the white cave
CASTELLANA GROTTE
The urban identity of Ostuni lies in its ancient village, "La Terra" (The Land), as defined by the citizens. Unmistakable agglomeration that stands out on the highest hill of the urban area: painted only white and marked by a multiplication of floors, narrow streets and stairways that intersect arches and squares, cubicular houses, often carved into the rock.
The whitewashed houses and the peculiar topography have given it fairy-tale epithets, such as White Town, Queen of Olive Trees and the Crib Town. Once you reach the highest part you can admire the beauties of the Cathedral and the Episcopal Palace.
- Grotte Bianca
- Speleonight
- Caverna della Civetta
- Caverna della Cupola
- Caverna della Torre di Pisa
- Caverna della Lupa
Distance from Ottolire Resort: 24,2 Km / 30m (by car)
Capital city of the Baroque
LECCE
Italian City of Art, it is known as "the Lady of the Baroque": the ancient Messapian origins and the archaeological remains of the Roman domination are in fact mixed with the richness and exuberance of the baroque, typical of the XVII century, of the churches and palaces in the city centre, built with Lecce stone, a malleable limestone and very suitable when worked with the chisel.
The city is marked by richly decorated buildings, elegant streets and surprising squares. The enchanting square in the city centre is the impressive St. Oronzo Square with its Roman amphitheater, the column of the Saint and Sedile Palace, today a tourist information point. Not far away are the Teatini Convent and St. Irene church, a Baroque masterpiece.
- Maria Santissima Assunta’s Cathedral
- Holy Cross’ Cathedral
- Roman Amphitheater
- Charles V’s Castle
Distance from Ottolire Resort: 107 Km / 1h 7m (by car)