The Old Town of Bari, Italy, is a labyrinth of narrow streets, courtyards and quiet lanes surrounded by beautiful old stone buildings — some with their doors ajar offering a hint of what lays inside.
As I wandered the streets on a quiet weekday evening, I felt that I had stepped into the heart of the real Italy.
A glimpse through one open doorway revealed a group of old men playing cards. Along another side street, a woman rolled pasta inside her kitchen. Further along, a fisherman was selling his wares from the back of a flatbed truck while a group of young boys kicked a soccer ball in the nearby courtyard.
Intermingled with all of these sites of everyday life was a plethora of little tourist shops selling everything from trinkets to fine art.
Situated in the Puglia region of Italy — in the heel of Italy’s boot — Bari is a major coastal port city that has one of the most interesting historic centres of any city in the region.
Boasting a population of more than 300,000 residents, the modern area of the city is of necessity laid out in a logical 19th-century grid system, but across the Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the ancient heart of the city — the città vecchia or Old Town, where a traveller can become pleasantly lost for a short time in a maze of narrow winding streets.
Before I allowed myself to become completely disoriented by the maze of Old Town Bari, there were a few sites that I absolutely had to see. Any exploration of this historic area of the city should begin with a visit to the Basilica di San Nicola, or the Basilica of St. Nicholas — for centuries, the most famous attraction in Bari.
The Basilica di San Nicoli was built to house the relics of Saint Nicholas, the real-life personality behind the story of Santa Claus. Although St. Nicholas lived and died in the area that is now Turkey, his fame had spread far and wide across Europe in the Middle Ages and since his death in the fourth century, his burial site in Myra had became a popular pilgrimage destination.
There are both religious and commercial advantages to having a pilgrimage site in your city, so in 1087 Italian pirates travelled to Myra, Turkey, and spirited away the saint’s bones and many other relics of Saint Nicholas.
The city of Bari then constructed a beautiful basilica in which to house the relics and the new site of pilgrimage for admirers of St. Nicholas became Bari, Italy. Even today, pilgrims from around the world visit Bari in May during the main celebrations for the city’s patron saint.
A quiet visit to the crypt of the Basilica di San Nicoli allowed me to pay my own homage to Santa Claus while watching a few moments of an orthodox Catholic service that was taking place there.
Appropriately, beneath the altar in the crypt of the basilica are also the Topins, which are a legacy to old thieves converted to good faith.
Not far from the Basilica di San Nicoli is the pearly white Bari Cathedral, which is actually the main cathedral in the city today.
It is an important example of Apulian Romanesque architecture that dates to between 1170 and 1178. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Sabinus of Canosa, who served as a Catholic bishop in Puglia from 514 to 566 and is said to have performed several miracles during his lifetime.
While I enjoyed seeing the imposing structure that is the Bari Cathedral and was able to appreciate its architectural value, I also enjoyed observing a group of young boys who were mischievously setting off firecrackers in the square in front of the sacred edifice.
The final spot that must not be missed on a tour of Old Town is the sprawling Castle Svevo, which like many castles in Apulian towns and ports began its life as a Roman fort.
It is located just outside the old city walls and served as an important fortification from attack, while impressing the simple townspeople with the might of the Norman Empire.
Today, the castle houses an art gallery featuring copies of Romanesque sculpture from the 12th and 13th centuries, as well as originals and copies of art and relics from other Apulian sites and cities. Although I wasn’t able to go inside during my visit, I enjoyed wandering along the walkway in front of the castle with the locals.
On my final morning in Bari, I couldn’t resist another walk through the old town during the light of day and once again I was not disappointed.
Under the arches of one of the Old Town alleys was a neighbourhood where women make homemade pasta by hand and dry it under the heat of the noonday sun.
Their kitchens open up to the street and through the open doors I watched them as they quickly and carefully rolled orechiette pasta, distinctive Puglian-style pasta known as “little ears” and sold it from street-side stalls.
Seeing magnificent historic sites is just part of the pleasure of visiting Bari — the best part is sitting back and being a quiet observer of everyday life in Italy’s Deep South. In the end, what makes a place “real” is not its historic architecture but its people. Bari is a place where you can catch a glimpse of the culture and people of Puglia.
If you go:
• Bari is the capital city of the Puglia Region of southern Italy (near the heel of the boot, so to speak). To get to Bari, you must fly into Rome and then catch a flight directly into the Bari Airport.
• For more information about travelling in Italy and for valuable travel tips and free brochures, visit the official website of the Italian Government Tourist Board in North America at www.italiantourism.com. For additional information relating to Puglia, you can visit the official tourism website for the region at: www.regione.puglia.it (be sure to translate the page). Another great resource for information on packaged tours and travel to Puglia is the Canadian Travel Council Promoting Italy: www.ctcpi.ca.
Debbie Olsen is a Lacombe-based freelance writer. If you have a travel story you would like to share or know someone with an interesting travel story who we might interview, please email: DOGO@telusplanet.net or write to: Debbie Olsen, c/o Red Deer Advocate, 2950 Bremner Ave., Red Deer, Alta., T4R 1M9.