Monopoli is a handsome port town on the Adriatic coast of Puglia, about 50 kilometres southeast of Bari. Its name — from the Greek for "single city" — refers to its origins as a refuge after the Ostrogoth king Totila destroyed the nearby ancient city of Egnathia in 545 AD. What followed was a succession of rulers — Byzantines, Normans, Swabians, Venetians, Spanish — each of whom left something behind in the stone of the old town.
The historic centre is compact and beautiful. A tangle of whitewashed lanes — the Centro Storico — runs down to the harbour and the sixteenth-century Castello di Carlo V, which sits directly above the sea. The Baroque Cattedrale della Madia anchors the main square, and a short walk away the macabre Chiesa del Purgatorio hides mummified bodies in its crypt. The old town is enclosed on three sides by water, giving it the feel of a small peninsula. On summer evenings, the harbour front around Porto Vecchio fills with locals taking their passeggiata, and the bars around the old port do a lively trade.
Monopoli is also a beach town. The coast on either side of the centre has a series of rocky coves and sandy stretches — including the postcard-pretty Cala Porta Vecchia tucked below the town walls — some busy and well-equipped, others quieter and accessible only on foot or by boat. The town is popular with Italian holidaymakers in August, when accommodation gets tight and the beaches crowded. Spring and early autumn are better for visiting.