Mola di Bari

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Mola di Bari, more commonly referred to simply as Mola, is a small coastal town of about 26,000 inhabitants located approximately 22 kilometres south of Bari in the Southern Italian region of Apulia (Puglia).

In recent times, it was best known for having primarily whitewashed buildings, however, growth, modern construction and building design have changed the image significantly, particularly in the northern (and more modern) section.

Mola city centre is its main piazza near the port and also boasts a church dating back to the 13th century. Bakeries in Mola are known to make some of the finest focaccia in Italy.

Mola is home to a large fishing industry that supplies fresh fish throughout the southern Italian region.

[edit] History

The old settlement of Neolithic people is confirmed by some archeological remains. The origin of the city is not entirely known because of lack of sufficient traces to assert a Greek origin (coins now dispersed, an old emblem showing the symbol of Athens) or Roman (a Roman villa of the imperial period close to the Northern coast and the remains of a water tank). The proofs of the existence of an urban settlement remain scarse 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.

Under the control of various feudal families (Macedonio, Gesualdo, Maramaldo, Toraldo, Carafa, Vaaz), only in 1670 Mola was able to get rid of remnants of feudal power and to restore its original status within the Kingdom of Naples.