Italy – Apulia 2024, part 1 (Bari)
Although whenever it comes to Italy, I always think that I should go to my other homeland (I'll explain this on another occasion) at least once a year, that's not the case.
There are two main reasons for this. The first one is that I have already visited this truly wonderful country quite extensively and some of the main tourist destinations even several times. As I like to say, I saw the Sistine Chapel before the restoration, when the restoration was halfway through, and when it was completed. And each time I enjoyed it – the Sistine Chapel, Rome and all of Italy.
The second reason is that this world, in addition to being beautiful, is also vast. Although I travel quite intensively, there are so many marvellous and interesting destinations that even with the best of intentions, it's impossible to be everywhere at every moment. At least, I haven't mastered that skill yet.
But, despite all of this, I often think of Italy and always have ideas about where, when and so on. And so it happened that I bought a return plane ticket to Bari for September 2024 with intention of spending two weeks exploring Apulia, the region in the south of the country shaped like the "heel of the Italian boot," which is also often called Puglia.
Let me clarify the name of the region right away: Italians call their region Puglia, but Apulia is widely used internationally. The region was originally called Apulia during the Roman times, but the name changed in Italian over time due to the development of the language, specifically the dialect used in this part of the country. From what I've seen, both names can be used, but I assume Apulia is more accurate, so I will use this term. When I speak Italian, I say "Puglia." So everything is in its place.
My initial idea was to spend a few days in Bari as a pedestrian, then rent a car to visit the places I wanted to see. However, a few months before the trip, a friend of mine was in Apulia, and while talking about his experience, I realised it would be better to get around Apulia using public transport. First – I like public transport. Second – since I was interested in cities and places that are mostly well-connected by public transport, I realised it would be pointless to rent a car only for it to be parked somewhere. Additionally, I’ve always found it annoying to look for parking space in unfamiliar places and using public transport would solve that detail. On the other hand, I took my driver’s license with me because I also wanted the option to rent a car if I decided to visit some villages near a city.
So, that was the basic travel concept, while what I ultimately saw and visited during the trip can be seen on the next map.
To begin with, one early morning, I took a flight from Belgrade to Bari. I tried to sleep on the plane, but it was completely unsuccessful.
After landing at the international airport in Bari, I easily navigated my way and took a train to the main railway station in the centre of Bari. There, I immediately went to the left luggage office and left my large backpack, so I could move around the city more easily.
I could only enter the flat I rented for my stay in Bari at 3 in the afternoon, which meant I had a few free hours. It seemed pointless to sit at the train station, so I came up with the idea to take a short walk around the area near the station with just my small backpack.
When I stepped out onto the square in front of the station, I immediately felt a wave of happiness that I had arrived in Italy. Whether it was the air, the sun or my imagination – I had the feeling as if I could recognise this country at first sight.
However, I was very tired and heavy because I hadn't slept enough and I had woken up at the crack of dawn for the early flight. So, I immediately sat down at a café on a pedestrian street that leads from the main train station to the old part of Bari, and there I ordered a coffee and some pastry to serve as an addition to my breakfast.
Since my plan was to spend 2 weeks in Italy and I wasn't coming from a country that belongs to the European Union, I thought it would be a good idea to buy a SIM card, since I have a mobile phone where I can insert a second card. This way, I would ensure a constant internet connection, which definitely makes travelling easier and helps in gathering information about timetables and so on. The problem was that it was Sunday and most stores were closed.
So, I decided to take a walk and inquire if there were any other places where I could buy a SIM card, not just in stores of the major providers. Along the way, I also passed by a food kiosk, but what caught my attention the most was how the word "kiosk" is written in Italian – "il chiosco."
Traditionally, Italians are not known for speaking foreign languages, but I think this is changing in the modern world, especially with the advent of the internet. On the other hand, I didn’t have much of a problem with this – although I had become somewhat rusty, I practically used only Italian, not English, throughout the trip, and everything went great. It wasn’t the level of knowledge I once had, but I was still satisfied.
As I’ve mentioned, the wide street that leads straight from the train station to the old part of the city is pedestrian, but it is crossed by relatively narrow streets where cars go in one direction or the other, so one has to be mindful of that.
After a certain period of time, about 1 km farther away, the street reaches a wide cross street where cars drive, and the old town practically starts on the other side. There, I found a beautiful row of palm trees, and a little further, I could see the Teatro Margherita, which was once a theatre, but has been a museum since 1979.
Yet, I first went to the Tourist Information Office, and they told me where in the centre I could definitely find a store that sells phones and SIM cards that was open on Sundays. This meant I had to walk around a bit more, but in the end, I got the job done and was content. Now I had internet access all the time and, as I had assumed, it did make travelling around Apulia much easier.
This also meant that I could return to the old town in Bari (Bari Vecchia) and casually stroll through its narrow and picturesque streets.
Like all of Italy, Apulia is known for its pasta, with the most typical pasta here being orecchiette, which means "little ears," simply because the shape resembles small ears. Accordingly, in the old town of Bari, you can see and buy pasta made in this version (but in different sizes) on the street, along with other shapes of pasta. All of it looks exceptionally colourful, but certainly also very attractive.
The pasta and laundry hanging and drying above the street – is there anything that reminds you of Italy more?
Well, probably high-quality, artisanal ice-cream (gelato artigianale) falls into the same category – a typical, top-tier symbol of Italy. I found a well-known local gelateria and stopped by, but I had the classic problem – how to choose two or three flavours when everything on offer looks so tempting. I came up with a solution to this problem by deciding to have ice-cream every day, and although I wouldn't be in the same place, I would try to choose something different each time. Here’s how I started:
To avoid making a mess, I sat in the shade and leisurely enjoyed my ice-cream, then continued my walk through the old part of Bari.
This was all happening in the immediate vicinity of one of Bari's famous landmarks, the Swabian Castle (Castello Svevo). The fortress was built by the Norman kings around 1132, but it was reconstructed and strengthened in 1233, with massive bastions added in the 16th century. However, I must admit that on this occasion, I wasn’t interested in touring the remains of the medieval castle and preferred to stroll leisurely instead. But I did take a photo of it from the corner.
Not far from this spot, I came close to the Cathedral San Sabino.
The cathedral was originally built on this site in the 11th and 12th centuries as a Romanesque structure, but it was destroyed in the mid-12th century. By the end of that same century and during the 13th century, the church we see today was built. Although it is less famous than the Basilica of St. Nicholas (Basilica di San Nicola), it is certainly superior to the latter.
But, in order to visit the interior of the church, an entrance fee must be paid. For me, paying an entrance fee to visit a church is more of a matter of principle than money. Only in very rare cases am I willing to break that principle and pay to enter and visit a church. I simply believe that everything related to churches, both their exterior and interior, belongs to everyone – after all, that’s why they were built. If entry to churches could be free for everyone up until just a decade ago, I don't see why it shouldn't still be the case. I can agree that visitors should be required to show respect (in every way), but that would be all.
So, in this case, I only walked around the cathedral, took some photos of details and continued on.
The walk took me through the endlessly picturesque streets of old Bari, while occasionally I would peek into a courtyard.
Then, I came to a place where, alongside orecchiette, red hot peppers were being advertised and sold. The images were beautiful!
Soon, since old Bari isn’t very large, I arrived at probably the most important building in the city, the Basilica of St. Nicholas (Basilica di San Nicola).
The basilica was built between 1087 and 1197, and although it has been reconstructed several times, it is now considered the most striking example of Romanesque architecture in Apulia. Its façade appears quite simple, but there are still elements on it that are beautifully crafted, with the main doorway standing out in particular.
No entry fee is charged here (at least they hadn't started charging as of September 2024), so I went in and gladly walked around the church, admiring the various, exceptionally elegant and beautifully crafted details. The transverse arches, added in the 15th century, stand out in particular and appear relatively unusual.
This church is one of the most significant in the entire Christian world and serves as an equally important pilgrimage destination for both Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The reason for this is that in the crypt of the church lies the tomb containing the relics of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas (c. 270 to c. 345) was the Bishop of Myra in the historical region of Lycia, in what is nowadays Turkiye. He died and was buried there. However, in the second half of the 11th century, Byzantium, to which Myra then belonged, was under heavy pressure from the Seljuk Empire and it was likely because of this that an "issue" arose concerning the security of the relics of the great saint. In any case, according to the most frequently mentioned version of the events, sailors from Bari stole the relics and transported them to their city. Since then, they have remained there, and both pilgrims and curious visitors can descend into the crypt, where, behind a metal-barred fence, they can see the tomb of this famous saint.
When I exited the basilica, I started walking around it to admire it from different angles. On the northern side, there is the richly decorated Lions’ Doorway, so I wanted to take a look at that as well.
One of the problems I encountered throughout this trip was the fact that almost all the places I had reserved for accommodation officially allowed new guests to check in only after 3 pm. Granted, I managed to arrange early check-ins at a few places, at least to leave my things and pick up the key later, but in Bari, the owner of the flat I had rented was firm – no entry before 3 pm. That’s why I went for this informal sightseeing tour, as I couldn’t just sit in cafés and keep drinking coffee or other beverages. In addition, after the ice-cream, I wasn’t hungry anymore. Fortunately, I had left my large backpack at the left luggage office at the train station, so I was walking around with just my small backpack, but in my case, that didn’t make things much easier – my small backpack is comparatively heavier than the large one.
Anyway, the time passed and after visiting the Basilica of St. Nicholas, I started heading back towards the train station. On the one hand, I needed to pick up my large backpack, and on the other hand, the flat I had rented was nearby.
However, I decided to take a different route and ended up seeing a few more interesting places and landmarks. First, I walked to one of the main squares in old Bari – Piazza Mercantile, from where I briefly retreated into the picturesque narrow streets of the old town again.
I passed by the Tourist Information Office again and nearby was the former theatre – Teatro Margherita, which is now a museum.
A little further on is the building of the branch of the Bank of Italy (Banca d’Italia), while right next to it is the largest theatre in Italy – Teatro Petruzzelli.
Then, I wandered into the newer part of the city and I was intrigued to see the oleander trees (!) that lined the streets. I used to have an oleander on my balcony, but it could only grow to the size of a bush there.
After a while, feeling quite tired, I made my way back to the place where I had started my tour of Bari – the square in front of the main train station with the fountain. I quickly took a photo of it and then continued to the left luggage office to pick up my large backpack.
Soon, I was at the rented flat, where I first took a shower and then lay down for a nap. It was necessary for me to rest. On the one hand, I had gotten up very early, while on the other, the temperature in Bari that day was quite high, so I wasn’t too happy about having to walk around tired in the heat and strong sun.
Luckily, the flat and the bed were very comfortable, so I could finally relax.