Bari

Bari (Bari dialect: Bare) is the capital of the Apulia region of Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. With a population of 317,000 (in 2019), it's the second largest city in Southern Italy after Naples. It's also the core of a metropolitan area exceeding one million inhabitants and a bustling commercial centre and port.



Understand
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 travellers leave on ferries for neighbouring countries. The city authorities, however, have been trying to raise its tourism profile and awareness of Bari's old town, which has retained its ancient Medieval 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.

History
The city had strong Greek influences and, once it passed under Roman rule in the 3rd century BC, it acquired strategic significance as the junction between the coastal road and the Via Traiana and as a port for eastward trade; a branch road to Tarentum led from Barium. Its harbour, mentioned as early as in 181 BC, was probably the principal district in ancient times, as it still is, and was the centre of a fishery. The first historical bishop of Bari was Gervasius who was noted at the Council of Sardica in 347. The bishops were subordinates to the Patriarch of Constantinople until the 10th century.

The dialect of Bari belongs to the upper-southern Italo-Romance family and coexists with the Italian language, although they are generally used in different contexts.

By train
Check the Trenitalia website for time tables and prices. The main station is, in Piazza Aldo Moro. Bari's station is well connected to most Italian cities (Rome, Milan, Bologna, Naples, Foggia, Brindisi, Lecce, Taranto). Inside the station, there are information points for tourists, ticket machines, bars and waiting rooms. Check the websites of Trenitalia and Ferrotramviaria for further information. There are also local trains arriving from Ostuni, Brindisi, and Lecce to the south.

By car

 * From the north: coming from the Autostrada A14 Italia.svg Highway Autostrada Adriatica A14, exit at the Bari-Nord tool booth, follow signs for Bari ring road in the direction of Brindisi-Lecce-Taranto, take the ring road of Bari (SS16).
 * From the south: coming from the Autostrada A14 Italia.svg Highway Autostrada Adriatica A14, exit at the Bari-South tool booth, follow signs for Bari ring road in the direction of the San Nicola Stadium, take the ring road of Bari (SS16).

By bus
You can use Onbus Company to travel from Sicily to Puglia. Touring buses connect Germany to Puglia.

By boat
Bari is the destination for ferries incoming from the Greek port of Patras and Igoumenitsa. If you are traveling on a Eurorail during the low season, the cost is €16, during the mid season, €31. A normal ticket to Igoumenitsa is about €29 on the deck and in low - season. There are also ships to Bar and Kotor (Montenegro), Dubrovnik (Croatia) and to Durrës and Vlora (Albania). Ferry operators are either Superfast Ferries, Blue Star Ferries or Jadrolinija. An up-to-date site with international ferry schedules is here.

Get around
Bari is composed of four urban sections. In the northern city area, there is the Old Town (Bari Vecchia) between two modern harbours, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Hohenstaufen Castle built for Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district. In the southern district, the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district.

By car
On Sundays, parking is free.

See
In Bari there are so many things to see, especially the Old Town (Bari Vecchia), or the Cathedral of San Sabino, a Romanesque-style church. It has the longest seafront promenade in Italy, as well as alleyways, historical buildings, marvellous architectures and more than 30 churches, among which some outstanding ones like the Basilica of Saint Nicholas which is considered to be one of the prototypes of the Apulian Romanesque architecture. It is highly suggested to take a walk along the waterfront, on the top of the old city walls, which passes by the Fortino of Saint Antony (an old fort that has been turned into a modern art gallery) and the former Monastery of Saint Scolastica (which belong to the local university). The vast majority of the churches in Bari Vecchia are closed to tourists. They are opened up on selected festivities, including Good Friday and All Saints Day).


 * On the same square, also the Palazzo del Catapano and the Church of Saint Gregory are worth a visit).
 * On the same square, also the Palazzo del Catapano and the Church of Saint Gregory are worth a visit).



Do
Bari is a very lively city, with a wide range of clubs, pubs, bars, discos very popular among young people and adults.

Many pubs are found in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II or in Piazza del Ferrarese; there are also many discos, like the Reef, on the seafront in the direction of San Giorgio.

A popular summer tourist destination is "Torre Quetta”. You can get to Torre Quetta easily, taking the train from Bari station (direction: Fasano) and getting off at Bari Torre Quetta station on the seafront of Bari, a destination much loved not only by "baresi" (locals) but especially by tourists that love to spend an evening by the sea.

If you are not a nightlife lover, you can spend an evening in the Old Town of Bari, strolling down the most famous streets and squares, such as Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Via Sparano or Piazza del Ferrarese.


 * Football: Bari SSC play soccer in Serie B, the second tier. Their home ground Stadio San Nicola (capacity 58,000) is 3 km south of city centre.
 * Football: Bari SSC play soccer in Serie B, the second tier. Their home ground Stadio San Nicola (capacity 58,000) is 3 km south of city centre.

Buy
Pottery, bags, shoes, interesting (and underpriced) red wines.



Eat
Local cuisine is based on three typical agricultural products found within the Apulia region, namely wheat, olive oil and wine, beyond being even enriched by the wide variety of fruit and vegetables produced locally.

Local flour is used for homemade bread and pasta production including, most notably, the famous orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta), also known as recchietelle or strascinate, very famous accompanied by cime di rape, but also chiancarelle (orecchiette of different sizes) and cavatelli. Homemade dough is used for baked calzoni stuffed with onions, anchovies, capers and olives.

Fried panzerotti with mozzarella, the famous focaccia alla barese with tomatoes, little savoury taralli, friselle and sgagliozze, fried slices of polenta, all make up the rich Bari culinary repertoire.

Vegetable minestrone, chick peas, broad beans, chicory, celery and fennel are also often served as first courses or side dishes. Meat dishes and the local Barese ragù often include lamb and pork.

Pasta al forno, a baked pasta dish, is very popular in Bari and was historically a Sunday dish, or a dish used at the start of Lent when all the rich ingredients such as eggs and pork had to be used for religious reasons. The recipe commonly consists of penne or similar tubular pasta shapes, a tomato sauce, small beef and pork meatballs and halved hard-boiled eggs. The pasta is then topped with mozzarella or similar cheese and then baked in the oven to make the dish have its trademark crispy texture.

Other typical foods include patate riso and cozze and the popular panzerotti.

Sleep
Bari suffers from not having a good selection of cheap accommodation. Regardless, the budget options available all seem clean and modern if not a little overpriced compared to the rest of Italy.

Budget
If you are in Bari and looking for some cheap place to sleep (less than €25/night/person) it can be quite a problem.

Stay safe
Bari Vecchia is a beautiful quarter but because of the narrow, crowded streets and the presence of tourists, it is the preferred place for local pickpocketers. Sometimes at night there could be drunk people in the nightlife area.

Consulates

 * 🇦🇱 Albania
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil
 * 🇧🇬 Bulgaria
 * 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
 * 🇬🇷 Greece
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico
 * 🇷🇴 Romania
 * 🇪🇸 Spain
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland

Go next
Nice towns to discover around Bari are Matera, Gravina, Martina Franca and Alberobello. Trani (with a truly impressive Cathedral), Molfetta, Giovinazzo to the north and Mola di Bari, Polignano a Mare and Monopoli to the south are closer to Bari and also worth a visit. There are many direct trains a day. A one-way ticket to Matera or Alberobello is about €4.