Explorations of a port city on the Adriatic Sea and the final resting place of Ole St. Nick.
Bari is a mix of new and old. The twisty streets of the old city hugs the coast, surrounded by 19th and 20th century suburbs. Known as Barium in antiquity, Bari was an old city even by the time the Romans showed up. The old city is mostly concentrated on a small peninsula. It’s full of street markets, churches and very good pastries.
Jana Irving To get to the old city from the train station, you have to pass through the Murat Quarter, named after Joachim Murat, brother-in-law and henchman of Napoleon. He was in charge of Southern Italy when this area started to be built up. Today, it is known for its very square layout.
Jana Irving Moving into the old city. My first stop was San Domenico.
Jana Irving Chaos of the old city.
Jana Irving Scooters, scooters everywhere!
Jana Irving Throughout the morning, I saw several women selling homemade pasta.
Jana Irving Portal to the old city.
Jana Irving No idea.
Jana Irving A very southern Italian city.
Jana Irving San Giacomo, with its weird window.
Jana Irving Now for the Cathedral, San Sabino, a large Romanesque church from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Jana Irving It was Baroqued like most churches during the 16th and 17th centuries. However, 20th century renovations restored the Romanesque church.
Jana Irving Under the main altar is a crypt featuring relics of a couple of saints.
Jana Irving Ruins of a earlier church under the current church.
Jana Irving A 6th century Christian mosaic from a Byzantine church that once was at the site.
Jana Irving Street markets.
Jana Irving Outside seating for a nice restaurant.
Jana Irving A lot of arches in the old city.
Jana Irving Heading to Bari’s most visited attraction.
Jana Irving Basilica Pontificia San Nicola, the final resting place of St. Nicholas. The church is still a major pilgrimage site for Eastern European Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The relics of St. Nicholas were smuggled out of modern Turkey in the 11th century. This church was built to house them.
Jana Irving There’s three weird buttresses in the middle of the nave. Weird because they are on angles.
Jana Irving The Tomb of St. Nicholas.
Jana Irving A super cool Romanesque capital.
Jana Irving The main altar.
Jana Irving A bit closer to the Adriatic.
Jana Irving Castello Normanno-Svevo, from the 12th century, overlooked the harbor. I got some good gelato across the street from here.
Jana Irving The castle is now used for exhibits.
Jana Irving It’s a pretty cool castle.
Jana Irving The courtyard has a really impressive double staircase.
Jana Irving Sky garden.
Jana Irving Heading towards the sea.
Jana Irving Local fishing boats.
Jana Irving I headed down the promenade for a bit.
I initially chose to stay in Bari because of its great location. It is very easy to take day trips to smaller cities in the area. However, other than the cranky church guy, I had a pretty good visit. There was plenty to do and see in Bari.
Check out my next update where I explore the trulli of Alberobello!
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Start at the beginning of this adventure.
