Photo spot in Polignano a Mare & the Puglia coast
Ostuni from the olive groves
The white city stacked on a hill above ancient olive trees — best photographed from below at the end of the day, when the lime turns cream.
About Ostuni from the olive groves
Get directionsOstuni works at two distances. From the plain below — the roads through the olive groves on the way to the coast — the whole town reads as one white mass on a hill with the cathedral at the top, and the low sun in the last hour turns it cream and then apricot.
Inside, the old town is a spiral of stepped lanes, arches and whitewashed walls that bounce light into every corner, so even a narrow street stays open and soft. The terrace by the cathedral and the walls on the north side give views over the groves to the sea. Midday is the one time to avoid: white lime under a Puglian sun is glare, not light.
It is half an hour inland from Polignano, which makes it the natural second stop on a longer session — coast first at sunrise, hill town at the end of the afternoon.
Best time to shoot
The last hour of light from the groves below; early morning inside the lanes
Tips
Avoid midday — whitewash in full sun is glare. The groves are private farmland: shoot from the road, not between the trees, unless someone has said yes.
Other spots in Polignano a Mare & the Puglia coast
Lama Monachile at sunrise
The pebble cove between two cliffs, with the old bridge across the top of it — the picture Polignano is known for, and empty for one hour a day.
The cliff terraces on the Lungomare Domenico Modugno
A promenade along the top of the cliff, with terraces that hang over the sea and put nothing but water behind your subjects.
Monopoli — the Porto Vecchio
A working harbour of blue wooden boats under a white old town, ten minutes up the coast and a good deal calmer than Polignano.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know Ostuni from the olive groves — free of charge.