Cathedral.
![MolaTeatroVW](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/MolaTeatroVW.jpg)
Mola di Bari, commonly referred to simply as Mola (
Barese: ), is a town and ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' of the
Metropolitan City of Bari
The Metropolitan City of Bari ( it, Città Metropolitana di Bari) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari. It replaced the Province of Bari and includes the city of Bari a ...
, in the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of
Apulia, in Southern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, on the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
.
In recent times, the town was best known for having primarily
whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used.
...
ed buildings, however, growth, modern construction, and building design have changed the image significantly, particularly in the northern (and more modern) part of the town.
Mola's city center is its main piazza, ''Piazza XX Settembre'' near the port and it also boasts a church (Chiesa Matrice, i.e. Mother Church) dating back to the 13th century.
Bakeries in Mola are known for their
focaccia
Focaccia ( , , ; lij, fugassa ; nap, label= Barese, fecazze ) is a flat leavened oven-baked Italian bread, similar in style and texture to pizza; in some places, it is called ("white pizza"). Focaccia can be served as a side dish or as san ...
food. Until the early 1990s, there were two privately owned public
firewood ovens available to the inhabitants of Mola, one located on Via Nino Bixio, on the southern part of the town, and the other located on Via Pesce, on the opposite side of the main Piazza. These businesses served the local residents by providing a place to cook baked goods, primarily focaccia and breads. Typically, focaccia pans were quite large (some approaching half a meter in diameter) and were difficult to cook in one’s home. The tradition of sending items to be baked by the local oven has passed.
Mola is also home to a large
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
industry that supplies fresh fish throughout the southern Italian region.
History
The old settlement of
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...
people is confirmed by some archaeological remains. The origin of the city is not known entirely because of lack of sufficient traces to assert a Greek origin (coins now dispersed, with an old emblem showing the symbol of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
) or Roman (with a
Roman villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
of the imperial period close to the northern coast and the remains of a water tank). The proof of the existence of an urban settlement remains scarce and contradictory up until 1277, when
Charles I of Anjou ordered the reconstruction of the city along with the building of city walls, a church, and a castle.
After its re-foundation by Charles of Anjou in the 13th century, Mola then passed its ups and downs and retained the status of
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
, almost continually, until the early fifteenth century. According to some local historians, this was a period of relative prosperity for the town, whose population recorded a significant increase. Virtually painless was the descent in Southern Italy of the Hungarian army of
Louis I Louis I may refer to:
* Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor
* Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140)
* Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158)
* Louis I of Blois ...
in 1348, to whom the local population immediately declared fidelity, saving the place from being looted, as it happened to other neighboring centres.
With the passage of the
Kingdom of Naples from the
Angevins to the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, the indebtedness of the Crown determined the sale of state property to the creditors. Mola thus lost the status of a free
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
and was subjected to different feudal lords: the Gesualdo from 1417, the Maramaldo from 1435 and the Toraldo from 1464.
In 1495, with the arrival in Italy of
Charles VIII of France to claim the Kingdom of Naples, Mola, along with other ports in Apulia, was ceded by the Aragonese to the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
, in exchange for a huge loan. Venice attacked the city repeatedly but was never able to conquer the city castle, which remained loyal to Naples. With the period of Venetian rule, which lasted until 1530, Mola strengthened ties with the other side of the Adriatic and recorded an overall economic progress.
Back again under the Toraldo family, the city then passed to the
Carafa Carafa is a surname held by:
* Tony Carafa, Australian rules footballer
* Members of the house of Carafa
The House of Carafa or Caraffa is the name of an old and influential Neapolitan aristocratic family of Italian nobles, clergy, and men of a ...
, and in 1584 the people from Mola managed to collect the considerable sum of 50,000 ducats, which allowed them to break free from the feudal yoke to be subject only to the royal property. Soon, however, the estate was bought by Antonio Carafa, who a few years later was forced to sell it at auction to pay his debts.
It was only in 1670 when Mola was finally able to get rid of remnants of feudal power and to restore its original status within the
Kingdom of Naples.
Main sights
Angevin Castle
In order to defend the coast from pirate raids, together with the rebuilding of the town by its walls, Charles I of Anjou in 1277 ordered the construction of a palacium, entrusting the direction of the work to the famous royal carpenters
Pierre d'Angicourt and Jean from Toul. The project was completed two years later. Between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the building followed the fate of the town and passed through the hands of various feudal lords, resisting numerous attacks without ever being taken. However the considerable damage with the Venetian siege of 1508 imposed a radical restoration, which took place a few years later on a military project by architect
Evangelista Menga, who gave it its current form of star polygon. The mighty walls scarp, built in order to withstand an attack with firearms, were still equipped with numerous trap doors. A moat surrounded the building and communicated with the sea, while the castle was connected to the city walls by means of a bridge.
Cathedral
Dedicated to
St. Nicholas of Bari, it is located inside the old town, not far from the sea. Built in the late thirteenth century, presumably during the re-founding of the city by the Anjou, it was already in very poor condition in the sixteenth century. The Archbishop of Bari Girolamo Sauli therefore requested its reconstruction, which took place in the years 1547-1575 through the work of Dalmatian masters Francesco and Giovanni from
Šibenik
Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...
and John from
Korcula. The building is a fine example of Adriatic Renaissance, although the Baroque extensions have altered the appearance of the apse and some chapels. Recent renovations have enhanced the rose window and the two portals, the Lions (on the left side) and Dwarfs bearing the door columns (in front). The interior space is divided into three naves, the lateral ones with vaults that characterize the overall style and the imposing Corinthian columns.
Other sights
*Mother Church, dedicated to St.
Nicholas of Bari
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day De ...
*Church of Santa Maria del Passo in Sant'Antonio di Padova
*Church of Santissimo Rosario in San Domenico
*Palazzo Roberti-Alberotanza (18th century)
*Teatro van Westerhout (1888)
Twin towns
Mola di Bari is
twinned with:
*
Tivat
Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro.
Name
In Serbian and Montenegrin l ...
, Montenegro, since 1969
*
Pedrajas de San Esteban, Spain, since 2012
*
Bomporto
Bomporto ( Modenese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northeast of Modena.
Bomporto borders the following municipalities: Bastiglia, ...
, Italy, since 2013
*
Auburn, Washington USA, since 2016
People
*
Niccolò van Westerhout
Nicola van Westerhout (also ''Niccolò''; 17 December 1857 – 21 August 1898) was an Italian composer.
Biography
History and formal training
Of Flemish origin, the family van Westerhout settled in Apulia in the seventeenth century, first in Ba ...
(Mola di Bari, 1857 – Naples, 1898). Musician and composer
*
Anton Muscatelli
Sir Vito Antonio Muscatelli (born 1 January 1962) is the Principal of the University of Glasgow and one of the United Kingdom's top economists.
Early life
Anton Muscatelli was born on 1 January 1962 in Bari, Italy to Ambrogio and Rosellina Mu ...
(born 1962). Economist and university president
*
Angelo Caputo (born 1932). Entrepreneur, founder, and owner of Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets (Greater Chicago).
*
Antonio Martinelli (born 1965). Philanthropist, real estate magnate, restaurateur, master chef, baker.
See also
*
Mola di Bari railway station
References
External links
Official websiteMola di Bari from Satellite (Google Local) "The Other Mola", Tiziano Thomas Dossena, L'Idea.N.33, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mola Di Bari
Coastal towns in Apulia
Cities and towns in Apulia
Territories of the Republic of Venice