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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.
Location of Monopoli in Italy
Coordinates: 40°57′N 17°18′E
Country Italy
Region Apulia
Metropolitan Bari (BA)
city
Frazioni
Government
• Mayor
See list
Emilio Romani
(Popolo delle
Libertà)
Area
• Total 157.89 km 2
(60.96 sq mi)
Elevation
9 m (30 ft)
Population (31-12-2014) [1]
• Total 49,246
• Density 310/km 2
Demonym(s)
Time zone
• Summer (DST)
(810/sq mi)
Postal code 70043
Dialing code 080
Monopolitani
CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2)
Patron saint Madonna della
Madia
Saint day December 16
Website
Official website
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.
Old port
Geography