Monopoli's old port is a palette: red-and-blue wooden boats on green water, sixteenth-century walls and Charles V's castle closing the scene. The old town, still lived-in and genuine, opens onto urban coves like Cala Porta Vecchia, where people swim beneath the bastions.
The Baroque cathedral keeps the Madia — the raft of the town's founding legend. Around it, the countryside lines up olive groves and fortified masserie. Monopoli is Puglia's answer for those seeking Polignano without the crush: ten minutes along, an entirely different measure.
Near Monopoli
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
