A cosmopolitan regional capital, Bari is a melting pot of people and traditions, a creative and welcoming city just waiting to be discovered.
Its visiting card, the grand seafront promenade Nazario Sauro, the longest in Italy, embraces and links the old town with the elegant Murat district. If you enjoy going out for a jog in the early hours of the morning, you’ll be greeted by the fishermen of the old town putting out to sea aboard colorful boats who, after some hours, are going to liven up the picturesque fish market, better known by the name of ‘’n-dèrr la lanze’’, where they sell the daily catch.
At dusk, the sumptuous palaces in Littorio style, the Liberty Teatro Kursaal Santa Lucia and the Margherita Theatre, today a hotspot of contemporary art, become all tinged with pink, delivering a unique spectacle to whoever decides to linger by the sea sipping a drink.
Just as enjoyable is losing yourself in the narrow alleys of Bari Vecchia, the old town: the white ashlars, the tower houses, the old bakeries, the hidden cloisters, the countless small churches, the overshadowing Romanesque Cathedral of St. Sabin and the awe-inspiring Basilica of St. Nicholas enshrine centuries of history, fragrances and traditions of a people which has always held a special bond with the East.
Just a stone’s throw from the imposing Norman-Swabian Castle, once a defensive stronghold and later on a Renaissance residence, you’ll find the polychrome artwork by Sol Lewitt which decorates Puglia Design Store, the renovated Murat Space dedicated to the handicraft Made in Puglia.
From here, you can easily reach the most exclusive shopping streets which at night become abuzz with bustling nightspots and stylish restaurants, making Bari a vibrant and exciting city all year round.
The journey continues at www.viaggiareinpuglia.it
