Patrick Nouhailler's pictures .

The area was first settled as a Greek establishment as the city of Gnatia, Monopoli being a smaller outer village known as Dyria, of Peucetian origins. After the destruction of Gnatia 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. Under Spanish rule Monopoli became a free city in 1545. It became part of the newly-unified Kingdom of Italy in ...

Polignano a Mare is a town and comune in the province of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, located on the Adriatic Sea. The area was settled since prehistoric times, as shown by archaeological excavations in the locality of Santa Barbara.  It is believed that is the site of the ancient Greek city of Neapolis of Apulia, not mentioned by any authors, but attested by many coins. Remains of the Roman domination include the bridge on the Via Traiana.  The former cathedral includes works by the sculptor Stefano of Putignano. In the frazione of San Vito is a massive Benedictine abbey.