In short. The Adriatic coast is the busiest and best-connected part of Puglia: the regional capital, the main airport, and a run of port towns north and south of it — Trani and Barletta above Bari, Polignano and Monopoli below. It is the easiest area to arrive in and the one most people see first.
This is Puglia at work rather than Puglia on holiday: a coastline of harbours, fishing boats, cathedrals built at the water’s edge and cities that have been trading east for a thousand years. It also happens to contain the two most photographed seafronts in the region.
What this area is
It runs from the mouth of the Ofanto in the north down past Bari to the edge of the Valle d’Itria, and it crosses two provinces — Bari and the one made of Barletta, Andria and Trani, usually shortened to BAT. That name means nothing to a visitor, which is why this guide groups the coast by the sea instead.
You will hear the northern half called Puglia Imperiale: a recent promotional name for the area north of Bari whose symbol is Castel del Monte, taking in Trani, Barletta, Andria, Bisceglie, Canosa, Corato, Margherita di Savoia, Minervino Murge, Spinazzola, San Ferdinando and Trinitapoli.
The towns
- Bari — the regional capital, the main airport and ferry port, and one of the best-preserved medieval old towns in southern Italy.
- Monopoli — a working fishing port with thirteen kilometres of coves either side of it.
- Trani — the Romanesque cathedral standing directly on the water, and the oldest synagogue in Europe.
- Barletta — the castle of Frederick II, a five-metre Roman bronze, and the Challenge of 1503.
- Polignano a Mare — the town built on a cliff above a cove, and the picture that sells Puglia.
Getting here
Bari Karol Wojtyła is the main airport of the region and this coast is where it lands you. The railway runs the length of it, which makes this the one part of Puglia you can genuinely do without a car: Bari to Trani, Barletta, Monopoli and Polignano are all short train rides.
Where to base yourself. If you want a city, Bari. If you want a small town on the sea with trains to everywhere, Monopoli or Trani. Polignano is the prettiest and the most crowded — lovely to visit, expensive to sleep in during August.
What comes off this coast
Fish, obviously, sold off the boats in the ports at Bari, Trani and Monopoli. Inland from Barletta the country turns to vines and olives: the Nero di Troia grape makes the robust reds of this area, and the oil is among the best in the region.
Some of it ships. The oil, the preserves and the taralli of northern Puglia go out from here directly: see the shop.
The Adriatic coast is one of the six areas of Puglia covered in this guide. To see how it sits against the rest, go back to where to go in Puglia.
