Monopoli

For other uses, see Monopoli (disambiguation).
Monopoli
Comune
Città di Monopoli

A city beach of Monopoli known as Cala Porta Vecchia.
Coat of arms of Monopoli
Coat of arms
Monopoli

Location of Monopoli in Italy

Coordinates: 40°57′N 17°18′E / 40.950°N 17.300°ECoordinates: 40°57′N 17°18′E / 40.950°N 17.300°E
Country Italy
Region  Apulia
Province Bari (BA)
Frazioni Assunta, Tavarello, Pagliericci, Stomazzelli, Rizzitello, Chiesa dei Morti, Padre Sergio, S.Teresa, Macchia di Monte, Zingarello, Impalata, Cozzana, Gravina, Gorgofreddo, Lamalunga, S.Lucia, Antonelli, Corvino, Capitolo, Santo Stefano, Lamascrasciola, Barcato, S. Oceano, S. Vincenzo, S.Gerardo, Sicarico etc.
Government
 • Mayor Emilio Romani (Popolo delle Libertà)
Area
 • Total 156 km2 (60 sq mi)
Elevation 9 m (30 ft)
Population (1 Jenuary 2014)
 • Total 49,304
 • Density 320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Demonym Monopolitani
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 70043
Dialing code 080
Patron saint Madonna della Madia
Saint day December 16
Website Official website

Monopoli (Monòpolis in Greek) is a town and comune in Italy, in the province of Bari and region of Apulia. The town is roughly 156 square kilometres (60 sq mi) in area and lies on the Adriatic Sea about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Bari. It has about 50,000 inhabitants.

The city is important mostly as an agricultural, industrial and tourist centre.

History

Old port
The Charles V castle behind the cannons of the bastion S.Maria
Cannons of The Charles V castle
Map of the fortifications of Monopoli in the 16th century
Castle/Abbey of St. Stephen.

The area was first settled in about 500 BC as a fortified Messapian city.

In order to improve communication with the East, between the years 108 and 110 AD, the Emperor Trajan ordered the construction of a Via Publica which was named after him. Monopoli is the city in Apulia that has the longest stretch of the Via Traiana. This is one of the most important Roman roads of the Empire. In 2012 the city of Monopoli created an archeological park around the remains of this ancient road. The difference between this new road and the Appian Way was the shorter distance between Benevento and Brindisi. The Appian Way started in Rome, reaching Benevento and continuing on to Taranto, and from there the road continued to Brindisi, from which port people could take ship for Greece, the Orient and the Balkans. The Via Traiana, which followed an older route, began in Benevento and crossing the flat tableland up to Canosa continued on to Ruvo, where a fork in the road led in two different directions. The inland road went to Modugno, Ceglie del Campo, Capurso, Rutigliano and Conversano, while the coastal road went to Bari, Polignano, and Monopoli. These two roads joined again at Egnazia, from where the road continued to Brindisi. This road which Emperor Trajan had constructed became the route of choice to reach Brindisi because it was shorter than the Appian Way. It was travelled by military troops, merchants, slaves, pilgrims and, after the fall of Rome, even by hordes of barbarians. There is another important road on the other side of the Adriatic Sea which seems to be the continuation of this road. It is called the Egnazia Way and starts in Dyrrachium (Durazzo), in Albania, crossing a mountainous area to reach Thessaloniki (Salonica) and continuing on to Constantinople (Istanbul).

After the destruction of Gnathia by the Ostrogoth king Totila in 545, its inhabitants fled to Monopoli, from which it derives its name as "only city". In the following centuries the area would be controlled by the Byzantines, Normans and Hohenstaufen, and was a starting point for naval Crusades expeditions, living in that period the peak of its splendour. Later it was a fief under Angevine and Aragonese feudal lords.

In 1484 the city came under Venetian control and saw an economic upswing as a seaport on the Adriatic Sea as a base between Bari and Brindisi, as well as through trading its own agricultural goods. It was frequently attacked by Muslim pirates in the following decades. These continuous threats forced Monopoli to build strong fortifications which allowed them in 1529 to resist against the Armada of Charles V for three months, forcing the Spaniards to abandon the siege. However, the next year, Monopoli passed under Spanish rule, but remained a free city.

It became part of the newly unified state Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

The city, lying in the south of Italy Mezzogiorno, enjoyed a certain economic development during the 1960s, thanks to the opening of a Tognana (an important Italian ceramic manufacturer) industrial plant. The closure of this plant in the end of the 1990s certainly worsened the city's economy; Monopoli's economic recovery in the latest year has mostly been due to new industries (the most important is the MerMec, which produces railway material) and the development of tourism, especially in the coast and the countryside.

Main sights

Notable residents

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Monopoli is twinned with:

References

  1. ↑ Conseil des Communes et Regions d'Europe (French) accessed 27 April 2011

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monopoli.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Monopoli.