Frequently overshadowed by its more famous Italian peers—Amalfi, Positano, or Rome—Ostuni deserves a first-place mention in any thoughtful itinerary to Puglia. Crowned with an emerald-blue horizon, its panorama is framed by an unbroken line of white-painted structures that lend the town its affectionate moniker, the “White City.” Schrinking crowds trade Soliloquy for still lifes, permitting visitors to photograph the exact vistas enjoyed in, say, Santorini, yet without the background shuffling of global wanderers.

The reverse of Positano’s tight staircases or Rome’s propositional distance-in-time snap-every-second scenario, Ostuni’s gently winding lanes roll effortlessly uphill and, for the most part, downhill again. Standing sentinel beneath the cool shade of olive trees, the town rises like a sculpture carved from plaster; each stair or terrace reveals more ring-perfect pitches of sun-stirred water.