One Stop Down The Coast
Our next point of exploration was the town of Monopoli, whose name comes from the Greek origins of the city.
Our day began with trying another Pugliese treat on our list, a pasticciotto from Da Luciano’s. Originally from the town of Lecce, which is much further south, these pastries consist of a moist shortbread type of dough and a cream filling with a variety of flavor options such as chocolate, pistachio, or lemon cream. I was surprised by their appearance when we first ordered them since I hadn’t googled what they looked like beforehand. Based on their rigid boat-like appearance, I expected them to be a bit dry, but they were so delightful. The shortbread dough was the perfect consistency and the chocolate cream filled the interior. With an espresso, it was the perfect Italian start to the day.
We headed to the train station with our bellies full of sugar and caffeine. Monopoli is a convenient 5 minute train ride south of Polignano a Mare. Armed with some light snacks, beach towels, camera and a book, we made our way through the modern part of Monopoli while the soft sounds of a piano being expertly played pulled us towards a music conservatory tucked away in the cloisters of a church from the 1400s.
The Old Town
I immediately liked the feeling of old town Monopoli. It was larger than the old town section of Polignano therefore offering so many more streets to wander down and get delightfully lost in. The shades of white and tan smooth marble make the cramped and chaotic ancient streets feel airy and light. We passed several beautiful romanesque churches with simple stone facades, brightly colored doors and shutters, laundry swaying in the breeze as they dried in the fresh ocean air, and resident cats scrutinizing the passers by. The day was bright and full of sun and the energy of discovering something new fueled us as we turned down promising looking alleys.
A Dip in The Sea
After getting a good feel for the city and its layout we made our way to the beach. As we climbed along the ancient battlement wall we noted it was still armed with cannons evenly spaced apart warding against the intruders of the past centuries. Spiaggia Cala Porta Vecchia was a combination of sand and rocks and the water looked enticing as ever. I was eager to swim before the scheduled afternoon storms made their unwelcome arrival so I quickly stripped down to my swimsuit which I had cleverly worn under my sundress and waded into the cool refreshing sea. The water here was more sandy than rocky and very peaceful since for most Italians, it’s still a bit too cold for an actual swim in early May. After drying off in the sun and reading through a few chapters of “The Agony and The Ecstasy” we began to pack up and look for somewhere to eat lunch.
Good Eats in Monopoli
On one of the more lively streets we passed a few promising looking options (Although, I’m now convinced that one would actually have to make an effort to find bad food in these southern Italian towns) and decided to settle on a spot called The King Street Food. Not a very Italian sounding name, right? No matter, they had a delicious looking menu of pizze and pucce, and covered seating in case the hovering clouds decided to begin to drizzle. I had never heard of pucce before and now I can’t get them out of my head. Pucce (singular is puccia) are a regional kind of sandwhich made from a pizza-like dough. They make for absolutely exquisite sandwiches and I can’t believe that I haven’t seen them elsewhere in Italy. This bread could rival my love for schiacciata. Nick ordered the marine Puccia Pirata, while I stayed land bound after a debate between ordering the swordfish carpaccio option (Puccia The King) and the Puccia Bottino (capocollo di Martina Franca (a type of local cold cut)), pesto di basilico, pomodori secchi and burrata).
Searching For Shelter From The Storm
Satisfied and ready to use the energy from all the calories we had just ingested, we started off again ready to find the duomo of Monopoli. Stepping out from under the respite of The King’s large umbrellas we felt a slight drizzle beginning and were grateful that we brought our umbrella.
Realizing that we had missed a whole section of the old town, and more importantly the port, I veered us to the right, away from the cathedral. To Nick’s disappointment the slight drizzle began to turn into a progressively heavier rain. As I directed us through beautiful little streets and out into a piazza where people were rushing inside the buildings to avoid being caught in the rain, we realized that this storm (like the ones from the past two nights) would not let us go easily and our trusty umbrella was feeling less and less capable of protecting two people. We ducked in and out of alley ways and under awnings for a brief respite from the onslaught of rain coming from all directions as we traversed through streams of water cascading down the slight inclines of the slick marble streets finally arriving at the Cathedral where several other poor souls were seeking shelter from the storm.
The church was beautifully decorated in the Baroque style with marble inlays and detailing (both real marble and fake) and lots of artwork. We sat in the peaceful Chapel of Our Lady of Madia while reflecting on the day and taking in the church’s beauty. The storm was at this point clearly not ready to calm down, so we decided to enjoy the thunder and pitter patter of raindrops in the niches on the opposite side of the small piazza.
Back To Polignano
When the storm finally abated and we were ready to warm up and dry off we made our way back to the train station. But not before stopping at a fruttaia (a fruit/veggie stand or shop), where the kind shopkeeper helped to select a couple of barattieri, a type of melon cucumber hybrid, some super fresh pomodorini (cherry tomatoes aka my favorites), and some oranges. Around the corner from the fruttaia was the main location of the delicious Forno San Marco (the bakery we had found in Polignano the night before) so we loaded up with bags of their delicious taralli and freshly baked focaccia barese to hold us over till dinner time. We finally arrived back at our Airbnb, exhausted and ready for warm showers to cleanse us of the rainy day. The day closed with a beautiful sunset and a refreshing barattiero.
Un Abbraccio,
Aleksandra
