Monopoli (Menòpele in monopolitano dialect) is an Italian town of
48 792 inhabitants in the metropolitan city of Bari, in
Apulia.
Monopoli represents, on the Adriatic, one of the most active and
populous ports in the region. Its characteristic historic center of
early medieval origin, superimposed on the remains of a fortified
Messapian settlement already in the 5th century BC, overlooks the
sea surrounded by high walls.
Monopoli is also called,
erroneously, the city of the 99 districts; this wording represents a
tourist hyperbole, since by the municipal resolution of 1971 and as
is evident from the current city tourist maps, the city includes 91
districts: these are administrative subdivisions of the area
formerly located outside the city walls, whose toponyms they recall
ancient houses that have disappeared, the presence of a farm, a
church or other historical and geographical references.
The city of Monopoli rises 9 meters above sea level.
along the Adriatic coast 41 kilometers south of Bari, in the
geographical area of the Land of Bari, in particular in the
south-eastern sector of the Conca di Bari, whose relief, as you get
closer to the coast, sometimes presents a strong inclination ,
forming a steep step locally called Le Serre. This slope, detectable
a few kilometers from the center, delimits two clearly distinct
landscapes: a flat one, called marina, which extends towards the
sea, and one raised, so as to form a kind of plateau that goes
inland up to a maximum height of 408 meters, in the area of the
Carbonara mountains in the Aratico district. This step is due to the
abrasive action of the sea and marks a subsequent stage of the
uplift to which the whole region of Murge was subjected in the
Pliocene, when it emerged in its highest part. The territory of the
city of Monopoli extends over a total area of 157.89 km². The
coast, almost 15 kilometers long, is low and indented: with over 25
coves and wide sandy stretches, it is particularly suitable for
bathing and exploring underwater life. Seaside tourism is therefore
widespread in the area.
The territory of the city is divided
into units called districts, some of which are now included within
the town. They are characterized by the presence of ancient
fortified farms (centers of agricultural activities), churches and
rock settlements, trulli, neoclassical patrician villas and
farmhouses. The predominant cultivation is made up of olive and
almond trees, but there is no shortage of fruit trees (citrus,
cherry, fig) and above all large vegetable crops. The spontaneous
vegetation, mainly Mediterranean scrub, is still present in
different areas of the territory. Of particular naturalistic value,
also for the wide panorama of the underlying marina and some nearby
cities, is the faunal oasis of Monte San Nicola. In the oasis,
located on a hillock on the far edge of the Murgia, about 6
kilometers from the town, there are precious botanical species.
The coastal plain constitutes an extremely suggestive landscape
for the farms that dot it and for the presence of gnarled and
monumental ancient olive trees, plants shaped by time and wind,
living testimony of the history of the territory.
Hydrology: almost absent on the surface, where
it is limited to torrential blades including the Ferraricchio and
San Donato streams. Others, even less significant, are the
Belvedere, the Santa Cecilia, the Lama di Maga and the Jordan: these
very small eccentric waterways are locally called mene. The water
table, on the other hand, is rich in fresh water.
Geology: The
prevailing layout is hilly. The superficial soils, of calcareous
nature, belong to the Terre Rosse group. The rocks are mainly dating
back to the Mesozoic Era, from the limestone group of the Murge and
tuffs of the Murge. The plateau is rich in sinkholes and karst
caves. The coasts are high and jagged to the north with few sandy
coves; to the south, high and jagged with numerous sandy coves;
finally, in the area up to Egnazia, the coasts are low and sandy
with numerous coastal shores. The maximum altitude of the territory
is 417 meters, the minimum 0 meters, the prevailing altitude is
45,300 meters.
Flora (prevalent): Coastal Zone: Juniper, mastic,
thyme, filirea, caper; Low plain: olive, carob, almond, fig, prickly
pear, caper; Hilly sides: holm oak, oak, wild olive, mastic, cistus,
terebinth; Plateau: holm oak, oak, fragno, downy oak, almond, olive,
vine, cherry, fig.
The Impalata chasm, which opens at the bottom of a large sinkhole, is characterized by the presence of a perfectly vertical shaft with an almost circular section, with a diameter of about 2 meters, which reaches a depth of 97.30 meters. At about 83 meters there is a short and high corridor of about 40 meters, rather dangerous due to the presence, perhaps only seasonal, of carbon dioxide. At the bottom of the well there is a horizontal corridor where the percentage of oxygen becomes acceptable again.
Grotta di Santa Lucia, large and articulated karst complex that
would be characterized by the presence of the second largest cave in
Italy. The entrance to the Grotta di Santa Lucia is located at 375
meters above sea level and consists of a vertical shaft with a
diameter of about 1.1 meters and a depth of 25 meters which emerges,
after intercepting a small ledge, on the vault of a colossal cave
with a vaguely elliptical shape, in horizontal section, whose
measurements would be approximately 170 by 56 meters. Various
indications of an altimetric, morphological and geological nature
suggest that this imposing complex of caves, corridors and chasms is
only a stretch of a large underground watercourse, currently
completely dry at the explored levels which, starting from the
plateau and sinking much more below, it heads towards the Pirro
canal to reach the bottom of the large sinkholes present there.
Chasm of Cavallerizza. From a sinkhole, also in the territory of
Monopoli, present not far from the historic Cavallerizza farm, you
can access a complex system of wells and corridors, still active,
characterized by the presence of water, in puddles and in an
intermediate lake, until reaching , with a last and deepest well of
170 meters perfectly vertical, a lake located about 300 meters deep
with respect to the entrance level.
The climate is
Mediterranean, (temperate climate in the middle latitudes, according
to the Köppen climate classification) with dry and hot summers and
sufficiently mild, as well as humid, winters. The mitigating action
of the sea ensures that the temperature variations are contained
and, given the position of the city on the coast of the lower
Adriatic, the winds are very often breezy. In winter, the area can
be affected by incursions of cold air of Balkan origin which, on
some occasions, cause precipitation, even snowy. To remember the
snowfalls of 1956, 1962,1971,1979, 1987, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2010,
2014, in which an average of 15-30 cm of snow fell on the city. In
the countryside, snowfalls can even reach 50 or 60 cm in height, as
in 1956 or 2014. The rest of the rainfall is concentrated in the
autumn and winter months and has a very variable regime. In summer,
the city is often affected by torrid heat waves from North Africa.
In contrast to these waves there are days in which mistral winds
blow associated most of the time with low pressure nuclei that can
give rise to thunderstorms and sudden drops in temperature. The
temperature extremes were recorded in January 1993 (-5.9 ° C) and in
July 2007 (45 ° C).
Origins of the name
There is no
certainty either on the ancient toponym or on the origin of the
current name of the city. The most recent archaeological excavations
show that a nucleus already existed in the Messapian era (5th
century BC) and that it was equipped with mighty walls. From the
Tabula Peutingeriana, from the late Roman period, it is clear only
that in those years, approximately in the area of today's
Monopoli, the center called Dertu stood.
Different
etymologies have been hypothesized about Monopoli, none of them
really binding:
From the Greek Μόνη Πόλις, meaning Lonely
City: Dionysius II of Syracuse would have founded two colonies on
the coasts of Apulia: Polisnea (Polignano) and Monopoli, born on the
ruins of Dertu. To the Syracusans this center was the only port
present between Siponto and Brindisi, and they would have called it
Μόνη Πόλις, Città Sola.
From the Greek Μόνη Πόλις, meaning
important city: this in fact must have seemed the great Messapian
fortress to the Egnatini who had chosen it as their new homeland,
following the destruction of their city by Totila, king of the
Goths.
From the Greek Μονής Πόλις, meaning City stopping place:
Again in reference to the uniqueness of Monopoli as a port between
Siponto and Brindisi, in this case emphasizing its being one of the
rare landings on the dangerous west coast of Italy, almost always
downwind.
From a suggestive term Manopoli, with reference to the
shape of the hand that the promontories and recesses of the urban
coast have. This term is used by the Piedmontese cartographer
Giacomo Gastaldi, as well as in a map of the state archive of
Florence, dating back to 1400. In other nautical charts of the
sixteenth century, the name Manopoli is always found, probably due
to Venetian or Florentine influence. In the fourteenth century the
Monopolo form was also widespread, due to Latin influences. Finally,
in the learned language the term Monopolis continued for a long
time, declining it to the Greek (Monopoleos etc.)
From the Greek Μίνωος Πόλις, (City of Minos), hypothesis that
would see Minos as the mythical founder of the city and which,
according to some, would be confirmed by the inscription transcribed
by the abbot de Saint-Non in his work. A copy of the latter, cited
by Theodor Mommsen as grossly falsified, is kept in the sacristy of
the Cathedral. On the other hand, it seems ascertained, as already
seen above, that the area of the historic center of Monopoli was
occupied in the fifth century BC. from an important Messapian
settlement.
From the Slavic term polje, and therefore City of
Caves: the name of the city would recall the primitive urban living
conditions, whose population had settled in the coastal caves.