On a somewhat cloudy day we leave the beautiful old town of Alberobello and drive back down to the coast to visit Monopoli. Having chosen a large carpark on the outskirts which is fortunately not very busy, we find that half the car park has been cordoned off for what appears to be a major litter pick by a large group of schoolchildren (teenagers), with all the services in attendance, as they clear sections of wasteland by the the sea. As I have stated before, a major issue I have had with this trip around Italy is the distressing levels of litter and rubbish everywhere (apart from the major tourist attractions which are kept clean) so this was a rather heartwarming sight – as the pickers where children, I didn’t think it appropriate to take photos but well done Monopoli!

Passing a couple of small not particularly attractive coves on the way in to the old town – Spiaggia Porta Verde and Porto Rosso….

The main town beach, Spiaggia Porta Vecchia is just really a slither of sand at the entrance to the old town which sits above the ancient defensive sea wall on a promontory….

We wandered around a series of narrow streets of (mostly) white washed houses, shops and bars….

Finding the ornate Cathedral of Monopoli in the centre we are unable to take a look in as most of the churches and cathedrals in Italy are either closed / charge an entrance fee and are supervised, meaning that with Tilly I generally can’t even just bob my head in for a quick look….

The town envelopes a pretty harbour with an impressive castle at the far end of the promontory….

Slowly we wend our way back through the Old Town….

To find the car park still partially closed and some pretty impressive piles of rubbish sacks as the children are all sitting guard whilst eating their well earned lunches.

For us it is time to move on to our next stop a little further up the coast – Polignano a Mare….

Here too a series of narrow alleyways this time peppered with potted greenery and colourful souvenir and ceramic shops are the flavour of the Old Town….

And of course the odd church or three….

But for me by far the most beautiful aspect was the stunning sea vistas….

Oh yes and who doesn’t love a twinkly light….

We returned to the van and as we had been unable to find anywhere suitable to stay the night we are pressing on a little further north to Bari which we shall cover under a separate blog.