We blindly picked an Italian town on a map and found paradise

Résumé détaillé

It took a little town on Italy’s Adriatic coast to teach me how to be present. Not bad for a place I picked with my eyes closed.

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It was over a bottle of Lambrusco during Sydney’s second lockdown that my husband, Mak, and I decided we’d spend a year living in Italy. Two years later, after navigating the visa process and settling in Florence, we found ourselves over another bottle (Chianti, this time) deciding we wanted to be somewhere else. Florence was beautiful, but we were craving the Italy we’d imagined, not an NYU campus full of Americans.

So we pulled up a map of Italy. I covered my eyes and blindly pointed, landing on a town called Monopoli, in Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot. Within a fortnight, we’d packed up our apartment and booked a train south. It was there that we found the dolce vita we’d fantasised about during that tumultuous lockdown in Sydney.

We arrived around 1pm on a Sunday. Shop doors were shuttered, and there weren’t many people strolling the streets. I later realised this was just Southern Italy on a Sunday. It was the opposite of Florence.

Our apartment, though modest, had one feature I’d always dreamed of: a balcony overlooking a piazza. It became my office and bird’s-eye view of town life. There was a primary school, too. We’d watch the kids practise their Mother’s Day dance to Sarà perché ti amo, then put on their Easter performances. I’d spend hours out there writing, occasionally distracted by whatever was happening in the piazza below.

Puglia has the longest coastline of any mainland region in Italy, and Monopoli has about 10 beaches within walking distance. Most day-trippers head to Cala Portavecchia, the main town beach pushed up against the old city walls. It’s pretty, but for swimming I quickly followed the locals to Porto Rosso, a 10-minute walk away. The water is so clear it could pass for gin. Cliffs wrap around the little bay, keeping the waves down, which suits me just fine. I’d much rather float than tread water.

I got into the habit of heading there most…

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