Cisternino

White-washed maze of walkways

Located in the Valle d'Itrira, Cisternino, is another of the hill-top, white-washed building towns, to visit, explore and get abosrbed into a maze of walkways. It is considered as one of the most beautiful small towns in Italy.

The town dates back to prehistoric time. This area of Puglia developed during the Bronze Age, passing through the Roman period up to the looting and destruction suffered by the Goths.

The town was founded by Greek settlers and became the Roman town of Sturnium before being destroyed by Hannibal during his Puglian campaigns. It was then re-established in the 800s by an order of Basilian monks who built a Greek Orthodox monastery. Over the Middle Ages the town continued to grow.

Cisternino’s historic centre, the Centro Storico, is a maze of narrow alleyways that make their way between the whitewashed multi-story houses. When I first arrived at Cisternino it all did not look that interesting. But, then I realized that to enter the historic center I had to walk through one of the many narrow arched streets. Porta Piccola is the most famous of the gates on the north side.

• The main church is Chiesa di San Nicola di Patara. It has a simple exterior.

• The Torre Normanno Sveva, called Torre Grande, was built in the 11th century for defensive purposes on the highest hill in Cisternino. The Torre Amati and Torre Capece are also deense towers and are spaced equal distance from one another.

• Piazza dell’Orologio is the central meeting place for the towns people.

Don't come to Cisternino looking for a top ten lists to see and leave. The town is subtle. You just experience the narrow allways the different looks of the houses, the stairs and the small squares that pop up as you walk the town.