Puglia, Italy’s lengthy eastern seaboard heel is a real gem of the country. More and more the region is growing in reputation, seeing an ever increasing International tourism boom. In many regards it has always been a favourite for Italians, but more recently in the UK, TV chefs and travel shows have brought Puglia to life. I am late to the party, but a third trip to the region in 16 months has constantly added to my understanding and passion. This would be my longest trip to Italy’s heel, a trek that would add colour to existing friendships and bring new ones to the table.
MONOPOLI
Monopoli is a writer’s dream name, where anecdotes in reference to a certain board game could be endless. Despite a morsel of checking, I can verify Monopoly hasn’t invested in a Monopoli version, sadly! I reckon they are missing a trick.
The town is on the Adriatic coast, about 30 minutes south of Bari, and 45 north of Brindisi. With a population of just under 50,000 Monopoli isn’t the biggest place in the area but its amazing old town is well worth a visit. The tight streets must be a welcome relief from high summer temperatures, and while it does attract tourism, the vast majority will get drawn to nearby Polignano a Mare, which will form the second part of this story.
The history of Monopoli goes back to 500BC when it was a Messapian settlement. The old port could almost date that far back. It is a natural harbour in an area of extreme photogenic beauty, with the old style, blue coloured fishing boats bobbing around adding to the panoply. Two ancient Roman roads, the Appian Way and the Traiana Way diverged in route after Benevento as they headed south east, with the latter of these hitting the coast at Bari, then down to Monopoli. The two roads then converged at Egnazia before ending in Brindisi. The trade these routes provided can’t be underestimated, and the Traiana Way doubtlessly helped Monopoli establish itself and prosper. Beyond that era, the Venetian Empire, then the Spanish jostled for control for a couple of hundred years.
The seaboard castle acts as a gate to the town from the Adriatic, with remnants of the old city wall still intact in this area. The Cathedral is absolutely shoehorned into the old town and towers above everything else in Monopoli. Restaurants are plentiful if small, but with street tables, what better place to soak up the atmosphere as well as the local culinary delights, with fish being high on that list.
The local football team were extremely late in joining the world of Calcio, with a registered club only appearing in 1958 as AC Monopoli. Eight years on the club was re-formed in 1966, but the finances were still not right and the town would be without a team to watch for ten years in the 70’s/80’s! The modern day club badge with its green and white (the club colours) seagull above the waves carries 1966 between the two emblems, a nod to the second coming of the club, not the first curiously. With the original sides’ suffering financial meltdown, the third attempt proved more encouraging with the club winning the Puglia Eccellenza league in 2004/05 with a record 102 points. That success spurred a second promotion the next season via a playoff with Celano into Serie C2 (a level that no longer exists but was the fourth division), where they stayed for four terms.
It was however starting to unravel once more, and they were due to start again from the 9th tier in the summer of 2010, but along came a white knight in the unlikely shape of ASD Liberty Bari 1909, who decided to relocate to Monopoli, calling themselves AS Liberty Monopoli. Liberty were in the Eccellenza of Puglia, the highest regional league meaning Monopoli fell merely one league instead of four. In the club’s second season they were promoted back to the National fourth tier. That sparked another name change with SS Monospolis becoming the name, which seems to be a nod to the town’s Greek origins, but two years later SS Monopoli 1966 became the more stable name, which continues to this day..
That final name change in 2014 inspired the club to win Coppa Italia D, as well as participate as finalists in the Serie D play offs. Just when it seemed stepping up was going to have been agonisingly close, a number of higher clubs were relegated for financial fraud, resulting in Monopoli being invited to step up to Serie C, the third tier. Serie C2 had disappeared by this time. It was the board game equivalent of throwing a double six for Monopoli, who advanced to go and picked a rich bonus of entering the professional leagues for the first time. The club have never let the authorities down since, becoming a staple of Serie C, Girone C, with regular entry into those length play offs for Serie B, until this season.
The unusual green and white striped shirt of Monopoli was one I was keen to add to my burgeoning Calcio collection, but I had noted that the matchday club shop was a thing of the past, and the website (now buffed up, but not then) wasn’t allowing access to any online purchase. So well ahead of going across, I tried to reach out to the club to see if I could get my hands on a shirt. They weren’t forthcoming, but fans were getting in touch, and this just adds to the growing feeling of how friendly Southern Italians are. One lad offered to take me to the Ultras den ahead of the match to meet the real fans. That scene isn’t really me, and time was going to be short ahead of kick off anyway, so I politely declined. Then the owner of a shoe shop in the old town contacted me, the amazing Cosimino, who was doubling up as a Club Shop agent. The necessary monies were sent and within days, perhaps the first ever Monopoli shirt was sent to Scotland.
We subsequently kept in touch and I felt his pain from Foggia, just days before the game in Monopoli, where away fans were banned. I stood on the Gradinata quietly hoping i Gabbiani (the seagulls) would find a winner against ten man Foggia, but alas they got stung by a stunning counter, going down 3-2, leading Cosimino towards a sleepless night. The need for points is becoming critical if the club are to avoid a first ever Play Out scenario. Basically a two game home and away tie versus another club from second to fifth bottom. If you finish fourth or fifth bottom, you have a slight advantage should the aggregate be level. The only saving grace, with Brindisi appearing helpless at the foot of the table, the one automatic relegation place is taken. Everyone else still has a chance to survive.
At 2-2 in Foggia it seemed only one team was going on to win, but they relaxed momentarily and Foggia took full advantage. Subsequent misses by Monopoli were as galling as they were incredible. Foggia will feature at some point in the future, here is a team, a stadium and a city worthy of its own story. This Puglian “derby” was a huge six pointer as an away win would have brought Foggia into the relegation mix, but with the result going the wrong way from a Monopoli perspective it put more pressure on the next fixture, just three days later. This was the scenario I pitched up in the town ahead of the game with Latina from Lazio.
My tight schedule from a game in Polignano a Mare, just 9 kilometres away according to google was becoming a stressful switch, as the only train that would get me to Monopoli was only 20 minutes after full time, and the walk to the station was exactly that length, walking at full pelt. Cosimino eased my angst partly by getting me a complimentary ticket as I was writing about his club, which was a tremendous gesture, but this was partly borne of no online selling available. The train situation was unsatisfactory, so in the end, I resolved to speak to a local taxi company and arranged for a more leisurely transfer at 5,15. With the Polignano a Mare ground in the southern part of the town and the Monopoli stadium in the northern suburbs, the trek was no more than 6 kilometres. In hindsight, I could have walked it easily in the 90-minute gap and saved myself a shed load of money for an exorbitant cab fee! As it was, he was dropping me off more than an hour before kick off just as the Latina team bus was pitching up.
Monopoli’s Stadio Vito Simone Veneziani is a very tidy three sided stadium with a capacity just under 7,000, although the Gradinata opposite the main stand is unused, but very nattily carrying the team name emblazoned on the seats. Allegedly, it is unsafe, but the seats look modern, and the curva as well as the away section are all part of the same concrete construction, all of which are on small stilts. The more likely explanation will be that it is unneeded, and if the capacity is restricted, tax burdens and stewarding implications can be reduced.
The loss at Foggia had added to local angst, and for some reason bureaucracy took cold feet about the potential outpouring of a beer addled fan, who might feel the need to vent should another result go south, so beer wasn’t available at the stadium. It was perhaps a premonition, sadly one that came to pass, but the stone cold sober level of support was angry enough!
At Foggia, without fans Monopoli played with a freedom, and only poor decision making in front of goal, and an inability to defend a cross ball saw them lose. Here they continued in the same vein with no lack of pace and skill, and on a normal night they would have been two up before Latina had found their feet. However, with just one win in 8 games, pressure mounts and luck seems to have deserted them as well. One of the misses was just a horrible end to a slick move, which culminated in a Monopoli forward clean through. He duly rounded the goalkeeper, but instead of rolling it into an empty net, he blazed it high and wide. It was a pivotal moment, Latina woke up, and the pressure from the fans ramped up, especially when the Lazio club whacked a fine shot home to break the deadlock towards the end of the first half.
At the break, Cosimino appeared with two green and white wristbands for Steph, a Belgian friend who had joined me for this encounter. These bands were an invitation into hospitality, where beer was still off the agenda, but a couple of glasses of local bubbly and snacks were very much appreciated. I got the opportunity to introduce Steph to Bisceglie’s culinary contribution to the national menu, the sospiro, a tasty wee soft pastry/cake with a custard filling. All of this was just another little example of the much more welcoming and friendly south can be. Steph and I will forever be grateful to Cosimino and Monopoli.
Despite the level of abuse ramping up, Monopoli kept going in the second period, but the efforts were becoming more desperate, and when they smacked the crossbar near the end they knew the game was up. In truth, Latina were stuffy and offered very little. They are a walking example of how organisation alone can get you so far. Quite how they are as high up the league was a mystery. For the second game on the trot Monopoli had been the better team yet lost.
I am never a believer in abusing your own players, but far too many around us were smouldering like a volcano awaiting the team heading down the stairs into the changing rooms to totally erupt. Heaping pressure on the players is affecting how they play, and to be honest, Monopoli aren’t a bad side. One big result in their favour and they can still get out of the present predicament. I hope they do, I am onboard, and hoping if they need a play-out to survive it is a case of “just visiting” and not “sent to jail”, with that dreaded drop in Serie D likely to cause all sorts of issues. I wish them well.
POLIGNANO A MARE
Just nine kilometres north of Monopoli is the famous beach resort town that would easily rival anything that the Amalfi coast can throw at you. Its iconic, tiddly beach, almost in a gorge between high clifftop homes is well known, but even in February with not enough power in the sun for beach life, the town is way too busy.
It was the football that had brought me here, with my charges Bisceglie in town that afternoon. However, it would be rude not to do the tourist thing and enjoy the splendours of Polignano ahead of kick off. I guess February is technically close season still, and many of the restaurant amenities were still closed. This is perfectly understandable, but the level of weekend visitors meant a big of a lunchtime logjam for seats, especially in places that were in the sun. I settled for a cooler across the street venue, but with a cold wind whipping around the corner, it wasn’t my warmest bowl of pasta ever.
I am sure hardly any of the daytrippers to Polignano were even aware a game of football was about to unfold. The magnificently name Stadio Madonna D’Altomare (Madonna of the High Seas) is somewhat grand for a fairly basic ground, but right on the edge of the rocky precipice at the north end of the town, it would play out another important 90 minutes in Bisceglie’s attempt to start the climb back to Serie C with a desired promotion to Serie D come May.
From the main part of Polignano a Mare it is a fifteen minute walk along the water’s edge, through some exceedingly narrow streets initially to the ground. I arrived maybe 45 minutes ahead of kick off and saw the very professional Bisceglie (pronounced Bee shell yeh) team bus, so headed across the road to take a picture. Just as I was doing that, my Bisceglie media buddies Mino and Donatella, together with club photographer and various directors, were getting out of cars. A lot of handshakes and hugs before we headed into the stadium, where I was included as part of the official party.
We took up position on the top deck of the one stand in anticipation of the action unfolding. This area would eventually become full of local fans, but keeping quiet and not provoking was the order of the day. The travelling Bisceglie fans were housed on the opposite side, peering through the fence strung out in a line down the far side as the stadium offers no steps to have people standing two or three deep, save a tiny scaffolded section behind the corner of one end, where the local “Ultras” would set off flares and keep their support going for Polimnia (pronounced Po limb knee A), a name taken from old Roman for Polignano.
With a permanent population of 20,000, Polignano is doing very well to maintain a team in the highest regional league, the Puglia Eccellenza. They have had a stuttering campaign, and a mid-table position isn’t apparently where the club wish to be, with rumours circling that a loss here could see the coach lose his job. Mino was saddened by that as the coach was a very nice chap, but unfortunately, football very rarely rewards the nice guy.
A pretty full and raucous crowd were packed in come kick off, with organised smoke flares being set off as the teams entered the pitch for opening pleasantries, all of which was lost in the mist. Indeed, an arrangement had been struck whereby the match was being shown live via the Polimnia Facebook page for those in Bisceglie who hadn’t travelled. The camera was positioned on the roof of the changing rooms in the corner on the opposite side, but with all the Bisceglie flags flying, no one back home saw the opening goal for the visitors, lost in the midst of the banners, but it was a cool finish.
The goal should have settled Bisceglie down, but while they were largely in control, they were doing more mopping up than causing problems for the Polimnia rearguard. When a shot from the home team hit a Bisceglie backside instead of flying in, that was the scare that finally saw the coach go to his bench to bring on the birthday boy, and talismanic striker Anthony Pignataro. Immediately, his influence settled things down, and he was a constant thorn in the Polimnia defence, culminating in a delightful lob over the keeper for 2-0. It was a goal of such beauty, I forgot where I was momentarily and let out a cheer of delight. The locals were all muttering in disgust, so no one seemed to notice!
Bisceglie saw it through to the end, a fine win on the road, maintaining the five point advantage over Molfetta, who had won by the same score at third placed Unione Calcio Bisceglie. The route to D is still complicated as winning the league title doesn’t get automatic promotion, merely avoidance of the earlier play offs, with the winner most likely from the two teams named above then playing the league winners, hopefully Bisceglie. The only advantage they get is home advantage in the second leg and promotion should the scores be level after extra time. Last season I wrote about Bisceglie having drawn 0-0 with Manfredonia, the team who would ultimately go up, but the teams side played 4 games, plus extra time in the second leg of the play off final, and would you believe all encounters between them ended 0-0! I would settle for that if it boils down to a final versus Molfetta, but my nerves might be shot to bits.
Mino invited me to come across to the media area after the game and meet the Bisceglie boss. He is a real character who ran across the pitch with the substitutes to join the celebration heap when the second goal went in, demonstrating the united squad. Unfortunately, my taxi to Monopoli was waiting, but in hindsight, I could have arranged that for later and enjoyed the privilege of saying hello to Mister Pino Di Meo.
Polignano a Mare might not be high on anyone’s list of venues to watch a game, but if you are at Bari or Monopoli watching a game, make a point of having a peek at this very beautiful town. Together with Monopoli the two places made for a brilliant day out from my base in Brindisi, but I went back north to Monopoli the next day to enjoy the old town, where by sheer freak of coincidence I bumped into Cosimino and his son in the street. Understandably, he didn’t want to talk about the game the night before. Warm, passionate people who wear their hearts on their sleeves, my kind of people.
GETTING THERE
Monopoli
The stadium is a very easy 15-minute walk down from the railway station, taking the left-hand road headed straight down as you come onto the street outside. At a small play park area on the left, about 700m down the street, head left at its end and the floodlights, together with main stand, will become visible. The ticket portholes are here, with no problem buying on the day.
The railway station houses a pizzeria which is closed in the height of the day, but basically a fine option if in a hurry. The old town is a twenty minute walk from the stadium but will provide far more sophisticated options for a meal.
Accommodation is available in Monopoli, perhaps not in such abundance as in Bari, Polignano a Mare or Brindisi, all of which could act as fine alteratives. A Bed and Breakfast painted bright green like the club colours is right across the road from the away entrance, known as the Green Wave B&B. It even has a rooftop area, where I am sure you could see at least 90% of the pitch.
Polignano a Mare
The railway station is a good twenty minute walk along busy roads to stadium, but make sure you have a look at the town before or after a match. The route is basically follow the coast south and the ground will appear. There are no amenities immediately near, other than a wee cabin in the stadium that will sell you some basic things.
Neither venue had anyone selling souvenirs, but Monopoli do unusually for Italy issue a free programme.
Football Adventures with James Rendall 