Monopoli
(
Italian:
[mo?n?ːpoli]
;
Monopolitano
:
Menopele
[m??n?ːp?l?]
) is a town and
municipality
in Italy, in the
Metropolitan City 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 a population of 49,246 (2014)
[2]
and is important mostly as an agricultural, industrial and tourist centre.
History
[
edit
]
Map of the fortifications of Monopoli in the 16th century
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
Via Egnatia
(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
Gnatia
by the
Ostrogoth
king
Totila
in 545, its inhabitants fled to Monopoli, from whence it derives its name as "only city". In the following centuries the area would be controlled by the
Byzantines
,
Normans
and
Hohenstaufen
. At the height of its splendour, the city was a point of departure for naval expeditions during the
Crusades
. 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
, 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 the Armada of
Charles V
for three months, forcing the Spaniards to abandon the siege. In
1529
the city, protected by its highly effective defensive system, with the help of Venetian soldiers and its citizens, successfully resisted a three-month siege by the Spanish imperials under the command of the Marquis of Vasto Alfonso III d 'Avalos, which is forced to withdraw due to losses. After the peace with Venice, the city passes peacefully into the hands of the Spanish imperials of Charles V of Habsburg. However, though Monopoli pass back under
Spanish
rule, it still was granted a free city status.
It became part of the newly unified state
Kingdom of Italy
in 1860.
The city, lying in the south of Italy or
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 the plant at the end of the 1990s was a major blow to the city's economy. Monopoli's economic recovery in the last year has been due mainly to new industries, the most important being MerMec, a manufacturer of railway material, along with the development of tourism, especially in the countryside and on the coast.
Geography
[
edit
]
Overview
[
edit
]
Located in the south-eastern corner of its province, near the borders with the
one of Brindisi
, and by the
Adriatic Coast
, Monopoli borders with the municipalities of
Alberobello
,
Castellana Grotte
,
Fasano
(BR) and
Polignano a Mare
.
[3]
The town is 15 km from Fasano, 33 from
Martina Franca
, 44 from
Bari
, 64 from
Taranto
and 75 from
Brindisi
.
Frazioni
[
edit
]
The territory outside the walled city counts 99 hamlets (
frazioni
) and localities named
contrade
. Some of them, which merged with the urbanized area of the town, were suppressed and became outer wards. The others are mostly rural localities, mainly composed by some scattered farmhouses.
The 99
contrade
are: Aione, Antonelli, Aratico, Arenazza, Assunta, Balice, Barcato, Bellocchio, Belvedere, Cacaveccia, Capitolo, Cardillo, Caramanna, Carluccio, Carrassa, Casale, Cavallerizza, Cervarulo, Chianchizza, Chiesa dei Morti, Ciminiera, Ciporelli, Conchia, Corvino, Cozzana, Cristo Cozzana, Cristo delle Zolle, Cristo Re, Due Torri, Gorgofreddo, Gravina, Grotta dell'Acqua, Guadiano, Guidano, Impalata, Laghezza, Lama di Macina, Lamalunga, Lamammolilla, Lamantia, Lamarossa, Lamascrasciola, Losciale, Macchia di Casa, Macchia di Monte, Mazzone, Monte Scopa, Moredifame, Mozzo, Nispole, Padresergio, Pagliericci, Pantano (inurbata), Parco di Tuccio, Paretano, Passarello, Passionisti (inurbata), Peroscia, Petrarolo, Piangevino, Pilone, Romanelli, Samato, Sant' Andrea, Sant' Antonio d'Ascula, San Bartolomeo, San Francesco da Paola, San Gerardo, San Luca, San Lucia, San Nicola, Sant' Oceano, Sant' Oronzo, Santo Stefano, Santa Teresa, San Vincenzo, Scarciglia, Sicarico, Sorba, Spina, Stomazzelli, Tavanello, Terranova, Tormento, Torichiano, Torre d'Orta, Torricella, Tortorella, Vagone, Virbo, Zampogna, Zecca and Zingarello.
Demographics
[
edit
]
Main sights
[
edit
]
The clock tower
A palazzo
- Castle of
Charles V
. Finished in 1525, it has a pentagonal plan. It is located on a promontory which was originally separated from the medieval city. It was restored and enlarged in the 17th century. Starting from the early 19th century, it was used as a jail, a status it kept until 1969. It is currently the seat of an art exhibition and cultural events.
- Coastal castle of St. Stephen, built by the Norman lord Godfrey of
Conversano
in 1086. It was subsequently turned into a Benedictine monastery.
- Jerusalem Hospital
, founded in 1350 by the Hospitallers
- Monopoli Cathedral
(18th century), minor basilica
- Palazzo Palmieri
(18th century)
- Monte San Nicola (Mount St. Nicholas) faunal reserve. The reserve, lying on the summit of a hill, 290 metres (950 ft) high in the
Murge
plateau, is important for the presence of some endemic plants.
Sport
[
edit
]
The local football club is the
S.S. Monopoli 1966
. Its home ground is the
Stadio Vito Simone Veneziani
.
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Sportsmen and sportswomen
International relations
[
edit
]
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
edit
]
Monopoli is
twinned
with:
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Francesco Antonio Glianes,
Monopoli nel Medioevo e nel Rinascimento
, Schena Editore.
- L. Finamore Pepe,
Monopoli e la Monarchia delle Puglie
, Monopoli, 1897.
- Sebastiano Lillo,
Monopoli sintesi storico geografica
, Grafiche Colucci Monopoli, 1976.
- Stefano Carbonara,
Monopoli nel Secondo Novecento
, Schena Editore.
- Domenico Cofano,
Monopoli nell'eta del Rinascimento
, Biblioteca Comunale Prospero Rendella.
- Giuseppe Andreassi,
Mare d'Egnazia
, Schena Editore.
- Domenico Capitanio,
Il sistema difensivo e la citta, Monopoli nel suo passato vol.5
, Comune di Monopoli, Grafischena s.r.l., Fasano. 1992.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Monopoli
.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for
Monopoli
.
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