Bari is often associated mainly with the narrow streets of Bari Vecchia, but during my stay I discovered a city with far more than just its medieval heart. Spending nearly a week in the region allowed me to explore not only the historic centre itself, but also many of the remarkable places located around Bari across Apulia and neighbouring Basilicata.

Bari | 巴里 | 바리 | バーリ

Today I would like to write about Bari, a large port city located in the Apulia region in southern Italy. It is one of those places that can be visited well beyond the peak summer season. Even in autumn, temperatures here remain pleasantly high, although it is still worth being prepared for occasional rainy days, which can appear quite suddenly at this time of year.

My first photograph taken in Bari, captured along the city’s long Adriatic promenade. At this point, near the historic centre and Corso Cavour, the waterfront is known as Lungomare Araldo di Crollalanza, although further north and south the promenade changes names along different sections of the coast. Today, it remains one of the most characteristic parts of Bari, stretching between the sea, the old town, and the monumental architecture of the newer districts.

Unlike many of my previous trips to Italy, my stay in Bari was not limited to walking through a historic centre for a day or two. I spent nearly a week around the city while visiting family living several kilometres outside Bari. Because I had a rental car, I was able to see not only the most tourist-oriented places, but also the more contemporary and everyday side the city. It was precisely this double perspective that made Bari far more memorable than I had initially expected. On one hand, there are the very old, narrow streets of Bari Vecchia, full of tourists, restaurants, and historical landmarks, while on the other there are modern districts, broad avenues, heavy traffic, and the everyday life of a large city. And I have the impression that only after seeing both of these worlds is it possible to better understand Bari. In fact, I have noticed that this often happens when I travel for reasons other than tourism. Sometimes it is work, sometimes visiting family, but staying a little longer usually allows me to see a city from a much broader perspective than just its old town and main tourist attractions.

Driving through the city itself was also an experience of its own. It quickly became clear that finding a parking space in the late evening in the centre where I rented an apartment, was not exactly easy. The local driving style required a certain amount of adjustment, as well. I very quickly started appreciating the fact that the car had front and rear cameras, because many parking spaces looked significantly smaller than those I am used to. Bari did not feel unfriendly towards drivers, however – rather, it felt like a city functioning according to its own rules and rhythm, to which you simply have to adapt. What also surprised me in comparison with my own country was the much smaller number of road signs. Very often, especially at junctions, you have to pay close attention to the lines painted on the road itself, because only then do you realise who actually has priority.

At the same time, the car gave us an enormous amount of freedom, especially because some of our trips around the region were made together with my two-year-old niece. Bari became our base for exploring a larger part of Apulia and even a fragment of neighbouring Basilicata. Over the course of several days, we visited places including Alberobello with its famous trulli houses, Matera with its rock-cut districts, and Castel del Monte, which remains one of the most mysterious medieval buildings in Italy to this day. All of these places are located relatively close to Bari, and it is precisely then that you realise how good a base this city can be.

THE HISTORIC CITY

Despite the numerous trips outside Bari, there was also time to explore the city itself at a slower pace. One evening was spent mainly wandering through the historic centre, while on another day I devoted practically the entire day to the historic districts of Bari itself. And it was then that I started noticing that the city is far more complex than the images usually associated with it online might suggest.

Most tourists associate Bari almost exclusively with Bari Vecchia – the oldest part of the city located between the port and the sea. This is where the best-known landmarks are situated, including the Basilica of Saint Nicholas and the Norman-Swabian Castle. Narrow alleyways, stone walls, hanging laundry, and small squares really do create a very typical image of southern Italy. Even despite the large number of tourists, this part of the city occasionally feels almost medieval, particularly once you move away from the main walking routes.

The narrow streets of Bari Vecchia remain the most characteristic part of the historic city. Walking through this maze of stone alleyways, small squares, hanging laundry, and centuries-old buildings, it is easy to understand why the old town still feels far removed from the modern districts located only a few streets away.

The Norman-Swabian Castle of Bari turned out to be one of the most interesting places in the city. Since I have already described it in much greater detail elsewhere, I will only mention here that it is definitely worth visiting the interior rather than limiting yourself to viewing the walls from outside. The same applies to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, which remains one of the most important religious sites in the entire region. It is here that the relics of Saint Nicholas were brought in the 11th century, making Bari an important pilgrimage destination and one of the key ports on the Adriatic for many centuries. At the time of my visit, the castle was undergoing renovation works, and one thing that also stood out was the relatively small number of exhibits inside. In practice, apart from the plaster cast gallery located on the ground floor, the interiors were quite empty. Nevertheless, the castle itself still makes a very strong impression. The castle was also closely connected with Bona Sforza, the Queen of Poland. It was here that she spent part of her life as Duchess of Bari before leaving for Kraków and marrying Sigismund I the Old, and she later returned to Bari during the final years of her life after leaving Poland. She was eventually buried in the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, where her sarcophagus can still be seen above the altar.

The Basilica of Saint Nicholas has a surprisingly unusual shape when viewed from the side streets of Bari Vecchia. From the front, it clearly appears as one of the city’s most important churches, but along the narrow streets running beside the basilica, the massive stone walls and fortress-like structure almost resemble a castle or defensive building rather than a religious site. This distinctive appearance reflects the Romanesque architecture of the 11th and 12th centuries, when churches in southern Italy were often built with strong, monumental forms.

At the same time, Bari does not end with its medieval quarter. Between the main railway station and the seafront lies a completely different part of the historic city – more ordered, significantly wider, and filled with elegant townhouses and representative streets. This district, developed mainly during the 19th century, presents Bari not as a medieval port, but as a modern Italian city shaped during the period of Italian unification. The most characteristic features here are the broad avenues, particularly Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Corso Cavour. The architecture of this part of the city feels far more monumental and organised than in Bari Vecchia. Townhouses dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries dominate the streetscape, often featuring neoclassical and eclectic elements. While walking through this part of Bari, I occasionally had the impression that I was in a completely different city from the one located only a few streets away.

And perhaps that contrast is what I remember most strongly. Bari is not merely a postcard-perfect medieval town designed purely for tourists. It is a large, living city with a very long history, which for centuries served as an important port and a meeting place of different cultures present around the Adriatic. You can see medieval, Norman, and Byzantine influences here, but also the 19th-century ambitions of a modern city.

The elegant streets around Corso Cavour represent a completely different side of Bari from the narrow alleys of Bari Vecchia. Developed mainly during the 19th century, this part of the city is filled with broad avenues, monumental townhouses, and architecture reflecting the period when Bari rapidly expanded beyond its medieval walls.

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The history of Bari is much older than it may initially appear while walking through the modern city. Thanks to its location on the Adriatic coast, the settlement developed as a port already in antiquity and from the beginning remained connected with maritime trade and contacts between the Italian Peninsula, the Balkans, and the eastern Mediterranean. During the Roman period, Bari, then known as Barium, became one of the more important ports in southern Italy, although for a long time it remained overshadowed by larger cities of the region.

Towards the end of the 4th century was the empire administratively divided into western and eastern parts. Because Bari was located within Italy, it became part of the Western Roman Empire. After its collapse in the 5th century, however, the political situation in southern Italy remained unstable for a very long time. The city repeatedly changed rulers and came under the influence of the Lombards, Byzantium, and for a certain period also the Arabs. The Byzantine period turned out to be particularly important because Bari became one of the main administrative centres of Byzantium in southern Italy. As a result, the city remained closely connected for centuries with the trade and culture of the eastern Mediterranean, maintaining contacts between Italy, the Balkans, and the Greek world.

In the 11th century, Bari was conquered by the Normans, who began extensive expansion of the fortifications and strengthened the city’s role as an important commercial and military port. Part of the oldest fabric of Bari Vecchia dates precisely from this period. At the same time, the arrival of the relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra in 1087 transformed the city’s position within medieval Europe, turning Bari into one of the most important pilgrimage destinations on the Adriatic. The Basilica of Saint Nicholas was built specifically to house these relics. Saint Nicholas himself is also a much more historically significant figure than modern popular culture might suggest today, when he is associated mainly with Christmas traditions. For centuries he was one of the most important saints in Christianity, particularly venerated in the Byzantine world and eastern Christianity. This is also why the basilica in Bari continues to hold major importance for both Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

The Normans created a powerful state that included Sicily and much of southern Italy. The last Norman heiress of this kingdom, Constance of Sicily, married Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Through this marriage, the Hohenstaufens gained rights to the Kingdom of Sicily and, after the death of the last Norman ruler, took control of the entire state, including Bari. Their son was Frederick II, who spent part of his childhood in southern Italy and became very strongly connected with the region. One of the most important rulers of medieval southern Italy, he expanded and rebuilt several fortifications across the region, including the castle in Bari and the famous Castel del Monte.

After the decline of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, Bari later became part of the Kingdom of Naples. The Kingdom of Naples was a historical state that controlled most of southern Italy for many centuries, with Naples serving as its capital. It emerged during the Middle Ages and existed in various forms until the 19th century, when Italy was unified into a single country. Over the centuries, the kingdom itself was ruled by different dynasties, including the Angevins, Aragonese, and later the Spanish Bourbons. The city was repeatedly rebuilt and fortified, while its strategic position ensured that it played an important commercial and military role.

In the 19th century, Bari began expanding rapidly beyond its medieval walls. New representative districts with broad streets and elegant architecture inspired by the urban planning of modern European cities started to appear. It was during this period that much of the present-day centre of Bari took shape, creating a very visible contrast with the dense and narrow streets of Bari Vecchia.

Today, Bari is one of the largest cities in southern Italy and the capital of the Apulia region. Walking between medieval Bari Vecchia and the 19th-century avenues of the newer districts, it becomes very easy to see how the city evolved over the centuries. For me, however, Bari turned out also to be a very convenient place from which to explore the wider region. You can easily spend several days here focusing entirely on the city itself, but Bari works equally well as a starting point for further journeys around Apulia. And perhaps it is precisely this combination – everyday urban life, a historic centre, and an excellent location – that makes Bari stay in your memory much longer than you might initially expect.