Bari & the Terra Di Bari
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© Lonely Planet Publications BARI & THE TERRA DI 58 www.lonelyplanet.com 59 Bari & the Terra di Bari Bari may still be considered the Bronx of southern Italy, but that old reputation is wearing thin these days. Michele Emiliano, the city’s tough anti-mafia mayor is convinced that Bari is the next Barcelona: a city on the sea attracting big business and tourists alike. Okay, so it is a stretch of the imagination to see Bari as the new Barcelona, but you can’t deny that things are looking up these days and Bari airport is certainly seeing lots of traffic with all those Ryanair and Easyjet flights. Really, Emiliano is right, Bari should be much better than it is. This region has the richest architectural heritage on the Adriatic after Venice and the magnificent Terra di Bari cathedrals embody its impressive and lengthy history. Pilgrims and princes have always been partial to it, and in the past it was the centre of an extensive network of castra (camps) and castles that rise along the coast like a massive curtain wall. More than that, Bari and its terra are utterly authentic, and the rural and religious traditions of the region have deep, deep roots. Just spend a day in Bari during the Festa di San Nicola or visit Italy’s oldest country fair in Bitonto and you’ll experience a sense of community and an almost pagan sense of celebration that seems to belong to another era. It may not be Barcelona, but Italian enthusiasts should watch this space. HIGHLIGHTS Join the crush at the Festa di San Nicola ( p66 ) and pay your respects to the relics of Father Christmas in the Basilica di San Biomasseria Barletta Lama di Luna Nicola ( p64 ) in Bari Trani Masseria Acquaint yourself with the Greek myths by Barbera Bitonto Minervino Bari studying a few of the 2000 artefacts housed Murge Ruvo di Castel Puglia in the Museo Nazionale Jatta ( p72 ) in Ruvo del Monte di Puglia Puzzle over the medieval mysteries of the Castel del Monte ( p80 ), Puglia’s most famous and frenzied tourist sight Tour the finest examples of Puglian Roman- esque architecture in Bitonto ( p71 ), Ruvo di Puglia ( p72 ), Trani ( p73 ) and Barletta ( p76 ) Ride bikes across acres of olive grove or make pizza in a wood-fired oven at the eco-friendly Biomasseria Lama di Luna ( p82 ) Join the weekend walkabout in unspoilt Minervino Murge ( p81 ) and then sit down to a long and lazy lunch at Masseria Barbera ( p81 ) BARI & THE TERRA DI BARI BARI & THE TERRA DI 60 BARI •• History lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com BARI •• Information 61 0 20 km the city to expand and flourish. But the death BARI & TERRA DI BARI 0 10 miles BARI of Frederick in 1250 and the fall from power of the Swabians ushered in a centuries-long pop 328,500 period of decline. When Isabella of Aragon Barletta Adriatic Anyone wanting proof that Bari is no longer set up her court here in the 15th century there FOGGIA Sea Canne della Trani the region’s capital of crime and car theft was a brief period of respite, but on the death SS16 Battaglia Bisceglie should sample a beer in the renovated old of her daughter, Bona Sforza, in 1558, Bari Cerignola BARI & THE TERRA DI BARI BARI & THE TERRA DI town centre, where restaurants, shops and became part of the Kingdom of Naples and Canosa di Andria Molfetta Puglia cafés now abound. The city council has ambi- sank into decline. Disinterested government Giovinazzo tious plans for the place and, since the civic and successive bouts of famine and civil un- Montegrosso To Greece, Albania Corato renaissance of the late 1990s, the old town has rest brought the city to its knees. By 1657, Terlizzi Bari Montenegro & Turkey gone from looking like a ghetto to a modestly after a devastating plague, the population had Minervino Ruvo di Bitonto Mola di citta vecchia Murge Puglia Modugno Bari glamorous . shrunk to just 3000 inhabitants. Triggiano Castel del Palo del But despite the changes, Bari’s still a far cry When the Bourbons came to power in the Monte Colle from a tourist-friendly city. It may be Puglia’s 18th century Bari was a shadow of its former BARI capital, the market of the south and one of self. The city was suffocating within its own M U R G I A P L A T E A U the busiest ports on the Adriatic, but most walls, so an ambitious plan of expansion was Spinazzola Conversano people take one look at its concrete carapace conceived. Under the guidance of Joachim Grotte di and high hotel rates and head straight for the Murat (Napoleon’s brother-in-law), Bari once Acquaviva Castellana ferry or the station. Still, the drab exterior again became the most important port in the hides a prosperous and lively university town, region. Putignano Altamura second only to Naples in the south. You won’t Today Bari sits at the centre of a metropoli- POTENZA Gravina Gioia di Puglia del Colle be disappointed by the fine restaurants or the tan area that encompasses some 1.5 million Santeramo Noci boisterous Barese who certainly know how to people, taking in 44 municipalities. Despite have a good time. the vagaries of WWII, it has retained its pre- eminent position as southern Italy’s com- HISTORY mercial heart. In 1930 the Fiera del Levante MATERA Matera TARANTO Bari is an old city, dating back 3500 years was inaugurated, confirming Bari as the main before the Bronze Age. It started life as an Il- market of the south, and even now its Sep- lyrian village; a small collection of farmhouses tember trade fair is second only to Milan’s. bookshop has a fairly good selection of maps and tourist so check with the tourist office or the nearest on a limestone promontory which is now the To all intents and purposes it is a thriving literature on the city. large pharmacy for out-of-hours services. Bari Vecchia. urban area. But even with a balanced economy Libreria Laterza (%080 521 17 14; www.librerialat Guardia Medica (%080 543 70 04) A 24-hour emer- Looking eastwards it wasn’t long before the city has its share of problems. Cigarette erza.it; Via Sparano da Bari 136; h9am-8.30pm Mon- gency call-out service. Bari was trading with the Greeks. But it was smuggling has now given way to drug traf- Sat) A designer bookstore with plate glass windows and Hospital (%080 547 31 11; Piazza Giulio Cesare) under the Romans that it really started to de- ficking, and illegal immigration continues to bookshelves arranged like an art gallery. It also hosts velop as a city, situated as it was in a strategic cause problems. literary talks. Money position on the Via Traiana. In AD 465 it was Libreria Mondadori (%080 521 83 43; Via Sparano da There are plenty of banks in town, including elevated to an episcopal see and in the early ORIENTATION Bari 158; h9am-8.30pm Mon-Sat) A convenient book- one with an ATM at the station. There’s a Middle Ages it became the seat of the ‘catapan’ Orient yourself from Piazza Aldo Moro in store catering mainly to the university. It also stocks some currency-exchange booth at the ferry termi- or Byzantine governor. front of the main train station. From the maps and tourist literature if you can’t find everything you nal, but exchange rates are better in town. With the advent of the Normans, Bari was square, it’s about 1km northwards to Bari Vec- need in Feltrinelli. to see a huge cultural shift from the Byzan- chia, the old town where all the major monu- Post tine East to the Latin West. In 1025 the city ments are located. The main thoroughfare Emergency Post office (Piazza Cesare Battisti; h8am-6.30pm became attached to the see of Rome, and a running north–south is Corso Cavour, which Ambulance (%118) Mon-Fri, 8am-12.30pm Sat) few decades later it fell to Robert Guiscard, is intersected by Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Police station (%080 529 11 11; Via Gioacchino Murat a Lombard mercenary and strong-arm of the the east–west axis that separates the old and 4) The main police station. Tourist Information Pope. In short succession the relics of San new town, and which heads northwest out Regional Tourist Office (%080 524 23 61; www Nicola of Myra landed in the city making it of town towards the ferry terminal and the Internet Access .pugliaturismo.com; 1st fl, Piazza Aldo Moro 33a; h8am- the focus of Bari’s first pilgrim tourists, and Fiera di Levante. Netcafé (%080 524 17 56; Via Andrea da Bari 11; per hr 2pm Mon-Fri, 3-6pm Tue & Thu) The regional tourist board. a few years later, in 1095, Peter the Hermit €4; h9am-10pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1.30pm Sat) An efficient Tourist Info Point (%080 990 93 41; Piazza Aldo preached the first crusade here. INFORMATION internet café with eight fast computers. Moro; h10am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-1pm Sun) Assuming the cloak of Holy Roman Em- Bookshops Service here is erratic and depends on the person behind peror and defender of the Faith, Frederick II Libreria Feltrinelli (%080 520 75 11; Via Melo 119; Medical Services the desk. They hold all the necessary information on of Swabia elevated Bari to a regional capital hnoon-9.30pm Mon, 10am-9.30pm Tue-Fri, 10am- Pharmacies operate a rotation system for transport and sights, so if at first you don’t succeed, and granted it many privileges, which allowed 10pm Sat, 10am-1.30pm & 5-9.30pm Sun) Bari’s largest night services.