Bari lies in the Puglia region of Southern Italy and is a dream port for cruise passengers. Bari offers about a day’s worth of sightseeing – that is, if you want to explore thoroughly, enjoy a long lunch and visit the local art gallery. If you have less time, you’ll find that you can see Vecchia Bari – Old Bari – and the town’s highlights in just a couple of hours. Between the heart of the Old Town and the sea is Bari’s most famous church, the eleventh-century Romanesque Basilica di San Nicola.
Exploring the historic center allows us to discover its most authentic character, with signs of its past scattered through the local alleyways and endless examples of age-old traditions passed from generation to generation. Then there is the famous Bari promenade, one of the most beautiful in Italy, overlooking the clear sea and the unique charm of Bari. Today, this dynamic city, nestled in the heart of the countryside punctuated by white dry-stone walls, is an important university hub. But it still holds dear the memory of its seafaring exploits of the Middle Ages, as well as its precious monuments and striking churches.
If Lecce is the south’s Florence, Bari is its Bologna, a historic but forward-looking town with a high percentage of young people and migrants lending it vigor. More urban than Lecce and Brindisi, with grander boulevards and better nightlife, Bari supports a large university, an opera house, and municipal buildings that shout confidence.
Bari’s signature basilica was one of the first Norman churches to be built in southern Italy and is a splendid (if square and solid) example of Pugliese-Romanesque architecture. Dating to the 12th century, it was originally constructed to house the relics of St Nicholas (better known as Father Christmas), which were stolen from Turkey in 1087 by local fishing folk. Today, it is an important place of pilgrimage for both Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
St Nicholas’ remains, which are said to emanate miraculous myrrh with special powers, are ensconced in a shrine in the beautiful, vaulted crypt. Above, the interior is huge and simple with a gilded 17th-century wooden ceiling. The magnificent 13th-century ciborium over the altar is Puglia’s oldest. Other items related to the basilica, including chalices, vestments, and crests, are displayed in the Museo Nicolaiano, adjacent.
