Bari is the capital of the
Apulia region of
Italy. It's the mezzogiorno's (Italy's south) largest city after
Naples, and a
bustling commercial center and port.
Bari is the largest and most important city of Apulia and
stands on the Adriatic coast. It's mainly famous for being one of the exit doors
of Italy, where travelers leave on ferries for neighboring countries.
The city
authorities, however, have been trying to raise its tourism profile and
awareness on Bari's old town, which has retained its ancient Mediaeval plan and
contains many historic buildings and sites.
The old town was the heart of
pre-Roman and Roman Bari and it is now possible to find several hip bars and
restaurants open "from dusk till dawn" in this once dark and unsafe zone.
Getting in
By car: You can get to Bari by the A14 highway, which runs
from Bologna to Taranto following the Adriatic coast.
By train: Bari is on the Adriatic coast train line,
with connections to Bologna/Venice/Milan and Naples/Rome.
By boat: Bari is the destination for ferries incoming from the
Greek port of Patra.
If you are traveling on a Eurorail during the low season, the cost is 16 Euro, during
the mid season, 31 Euro. There are also ships to Bar and Kotor (Montenegro), Dubrovnik (Croatia)
and to Durras (Albania). Ferry operators are either Superfast Ferries, Blue Star Ferries or Azzurraline.
To See
There a lot of places to see in Bari, especially in the
ancient part of the city, called Bari Vecchia by locals. It's a beautiful
mediaeval quarter in which there are a lot of important churches. The cathedral of Saint Nicolaus, for instance, has a gold ceiling and a crypt.
There is a small town - 20 minutes outside of Bari named "Adelfia
- Montrone". The patron saint is San Trifone. November 9 is the start of a three
day celebration. On November 9 in the early evening a giant beautiful balloon is
release which signifies the start of the festival. On the 10th, the statue of
San Trifone is brought out of the church and paraded around the town. Bands from
all over Italy come and perform on the outdoor stage.
Fireworks are displayed throughout the evening into the early
morning. The different men's club compete on which club can have the biggest,
loudest and most spectacular display.
Vendors surround the town with goods, food
and gifts. Last year I counted over 200 parked buses from all over southern
Italy. It really is a popular celebration. (By Margie Chiechi)
Bari folklore: The Saint of the city is Saint
Nicolaus who is celebrated on December 6th . The city's main celebration,
however, takes place in May 6-8th with historical reconstructions, popular music
and fireworks. For this event many pilgrims come from all over the world.
Based on work by Steffen Mokosch, Simone Bravo,
Ricardo and Colin Jensen, Wikitravel user(s) Episteme, InterLangBot and
Pz-engl and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.
