So you’re going to Italy on vacation. You surely want to do some wine tasting while you’re there. If you go to Tuscany, you’ll likely be sipping Chianti or Brunello and you’ll want to visit Florence and Siena. If your plan is to visit Valpolicella, you’ll also want to stop in Verona. In Puglia, you’ll taste Primitivo and you’ll also see… Well, there are no obvious destinations in Puglia. So let us recommend Monopoli, on the east coast of the heel of the boot.
No, Monopoli has nothing to do with the board game. In ancient times, Monopoli was a province of the Greeks, and the town’s name means something like “singular people”. Over time, the town has been ruled by Spain, the Saracens and the city of Venice, which had the most lasting cultural influence.
Today, Monopoli has a split personality. It is an industrial city of 50,000 people with a well preserved old town, or Centro Storico in Italian. It’s that part of Monopoli that you’ll want to explore.
For starters, we suggest that you just walk around to get the feel of the place. Located on the Adriatic Sea, there’s plenty of waterfront. A stroll along the lungomare, atop the old seawall, is very pleasant. (Lungomare means “along the sea”. You’ll see the pleasure craft in the harbor alongside commercial fishing boats. If you keep walking, you’ll reach the lighthouse guarding the harbor. Turn around and take in the excellent view of Monopoli.
Lunch in Monopoli’s Piazza Garibaldi.
At that point you may be ready for a meal. As in any Italian city, there are caffes and enotecas all around town. The main gathering spot, with restaurants all around it, is the Piazza Garibaldi, the general who led the fight to reunite Italy. (Be careful when you talk about him; some of the southerners still think the Italian north conquered the southern part of the country.) In good weather, which is most of the year, you can sit there sipping a variety of local wines. We especially enjoy a Fiano to accompany the abundant seafood, with Negroamaro or Primitivo to go along with the pizza.
The cathedral in Monopoli.
Not to be missed is the Cathedral of Maria Santissima della Madia. In its way it encapsulates Monopoli’s history. The front of the cathedral was built in the plateresque style typical of Renaissance Spain. The interior is decorated in the ebullient manner that you can see in Venice. But here and there are bits of evidence of the town’s Greek past, particularly in the iconography.
If you have the chance, take a boat ride outside the harbor. There are many boatmen who are only too happy to accommodate you. It’s especially pleasant at the end of the day, when the sun goes down and the lights come up. If you know Fellini’s movies, you’ll feel like you’re in one.
Monopoli at sunset.
Florence and Verona, as mentioned, are cities that have plenty of touristic interest. Monopoli’s Centro Storico comes very close to everyone’s idealized vision of an Italian village.