What to See in Bari, from the Alleys of the Old Town to Cultural Spots

Bari, capital of Apulia and lively Mediterranean port, always deserves a visit, a stroll among the elegant shops on via Sparano, a stop in typical bars and restaurants, many of which nest in the characteristic old city of medieval origin, renovated and greatly relaunched several years ago. The people of Bari can use the Bari Palese airport, located nearby. In the surroundings, a low cost airport parking in Bari for departures but also for those who want to leave the car and move on foot.

1 Old Bari

Around Old Bari nest the most significant monuments, pride and glory of the entire city: the imposing Norman-Swabian-Aragonese castle and the Cathedral of San Sabino, located right at the gates of the old city which presents itself with a picturesque tangle of alleys, small squares, courtyards, votive shrines, and symbols against the evil eye and slanders. Sounds and voices of the local dialect echo in the alleys, becoming one with the surrounding environment. Here is the Basilica of San Nicola, patron saint of Bari. It is here that the saint’s relics arrived from the East in 1807 and have been preserved ever since, although the cathedral saw its consecration only in 1197. The interior and exterior of the Basilica are the product of fine Apulian Romanesque craftsmanship.

2 Norman Castle of Bari

Il Castle of Bari, historically attributed to Roger the Norman, was erected in 1131; it stands on pre-existing residential structures from the Byzantine era. The restoration of the castle, damaged by William the Bad (1156), was carried out by Frederick II of Swabia between 1233 and 1240, using the previous layout and the surviving structure of the outer enclosure and towers. During the Angevin period, under Charles I, important restoration works were carried out by the protomagisters Pietro d’Angincourt and Giovanni di Toul. In the 1500s, under Isabella of Aragon and her daughter Bona Sforza, the bastioned enclosure was built and the central courtyard was arranged, with the double-flight staircase. In the nineteenth century the castle was used as a prison and later as a barracks.

3 The San Nicola Pier

A few steps away, behind the ruins of the Margherita Theater, the small harbor appears, a gathering place for old and new sea wolves, with the San Nicola Pier and the famous “nderr alle lanze“, the spot where fishing boats dock with their catch of seafood, which also supplies the nearby restaurants and market stalls. One could spend hours watching the fishermen “arricciano” the octopuses, energetically beating them on the ground or with a sturdy wooden paddle, to tenderize the meat before cooking.

4 Via Sparano

Four steps along the right-angled streets of the Murattiano district lead to the heart of the commercial city: via Sparano, the most elegant street in Bari, with sparkling shop windows full of refined goods, but also with places rich in history and culture, like the Laterza Bookstore, housed in the former premises of the glorious publishing house, which also collaborated with Benedetto Croce, as recalled by a plaque on the building.

5 Crollalanza Seafront and Petruzzelli Theater

The Adriatic is always there, just steps away, witnessing the daily stroll on the Crollalanza Seafront, an architectural expression of the Fascist era. It is the meeting point and place for chat before and after dinner; while for swimming and sunbathing, people rely on the golden and welcoming beaches of Giovinazzo, Polignano a Mare, and Monopoli. Not far away is the Petruzzelli Theater, one of the largest in Italy, inaugurated in 1903. It was destroyed by a fire in 1991 and returned to the city in 2009, entirely rebuilt exactly as it was.

6 Nicolaian Museum

Il Nicolaian Museum of Bari, inaugurated on February 6, 2010, collects important objects related to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. Paintings and sacred vestments, inscriptions, parchments, and illuminated manuscripts from the Archive of the Basilica as well as precious objects offered by pontiffs, pilgrims, and bishops such as enamels, coats of arms, reliquaries, chalices, and silverware from the Treasury. Of particular interest is the exhibition of two significant artifacts found during the excavations carried out in the last decade in the Nicolaian Citadel under the scientific direction of the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Puglia. These are the Roman-era entablature block and the medieval pilgrimage badge (13th-14th century) depicting Saint Nicholas, recovered respectively from beneath the Nicolaian Museum and the Library of the Nicolaian Studies Center. The Nicolaian Museum, which gathers the most valuable pieces related to the centuries-old history of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, is a great attraction for anyone interested in the Saint as well as in the civil, artistic, and religious history of the city of Bari. Starting from antiquity, one passes through the Byzantine (876-1071), Norman (1071-1194), Swabian (1194-1266), Angevin (1266-1442), Aragonese (1442-1501), Viceroyal (1551-1734), Bourbon (1734-1861), and post-unification eras. Inscriptions, parchments, and illuminated manuscripts (from the precious Archive of the Basilica), enamels, coats of arms, reliquaries, chalices, and silverware (from the Treasury), paintings, and sacred vestments allow the visitor to have direct contact with masterpieces and documents that have made the history of the Saint, the Basilica, and the City.

7 Museum and Art Gallery of Medieval and Modern Art

The Medieval and Modern Art Gallery of Bari was established on July 12, 1928. The collection was formed through the merging of the core paintings already preserved in the Art Gallery annexed to the Provincial Archaeological Museum established in 1875, other paintings deposited by churches and convents in Apulia (particularly important was the deposit from the Archbishopric Curia of Bari), works obtained on loan from the National Galleries of Naples and Rome, and others purchased by the Provincial Administration of Bari itself. From its foundation until 1936, the Art Gallery was housed in the Government Palace. Starting in 1936, it was moved to the Province Palace, built on the design of engineer Luigi Baffa, where it is still located. Since 2002, it has been named after the Apulian painter Corrado Giaquinto, born in Molfetta in 1703 and died in Naples in 1766, of whom the Museum displays seven works.

8 Cathedral Museum (Diocesan)

On June 7, 1981, the Archbishop of Bari Mons. Mariano Magrassi established the Diocesan Museum of Bari. The intent was inspired by the dictates of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, to ensure that “the sacred furnishings and precious works that adorn the house of God are not alienated or dispersed.” Initially, it functioned as a repository for works of art and sacred furnishings from abandoned churches in the old city of Bari and the entire diocese. The Museum was officially inaugurated on June 16, 1983. On September 12, 1996, the first exhibition was created in the Treasure Room, the Exultet Hall I, and the art gallery. On September 11, 1998, the second phase was inaugurated, consisting of the realization of the lapidary, the hall of the Benedizionale and Exultet II and III, and the hall of sacred vestments. With the relocation of the Curia offices by Archbishop Francesco Cacucci, the remaining area of the first floor was also dedicated to the museum.

9 Civic Museum of Bari

In 1913, to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Murattian district, the Civic Administration organized and staged a “Historical Exhibition of the 19th Century.” Following the considerable success of this initiative, the Municipality decided to establish a “Historical Museum” which was inaugurated on January 26, 1919, in some rooms annexed to the Teatro Margherita. A “War Exhibition” was also organized, including the De Gemmis brothers’ library and some important collections of documents and weapons (including those of Generals Bonomo and De Bernardis).

The Museum, appointed as a Moral Entity by Royal Decree of March 4, 1926, was increasingly enriched with interesting material, such as the archive and paintings of the Tanzi family. In the 1940s, the premises were requisitioned by Anglo-American troops to be used as a recreational club for the military, and much of the material was lost. Only after several years could the Museum reopen to visitors in new premises provided by the Municipal Administration. Since 1977, it has been housed in Strada Sagges, in an old building whose structure is typical of medieval palatial houses.

10 Museo De Romita

Barese trained at the Royal Academy of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of Naples, de Romita was a professor of natural sciences at the Royal Technical and Nautical Institute of Bari. The museum represents the idea of requalifying and restoring a naturalistic collection of historical-cultural and scientific importance kept for over a century at IISS Pitagora of Bari where the curator himself, the illustrious naturalist Prof. Vincenzo de Romita, created it at the end of the 1800s, earning the reputation as the father of ornithology and environmentalism in Apulia. It hosts several series of animals, including various species of birds not easy to find in southern Italy. Reptiles, such as the variety of Coluber leopardinus; fish with a two-headed shark fetus. Finally, among insects, the Ciccindela dilacerata, appearing for the first time in the fauna of the Neapolitan provinces.

11 Botanical Garden of Bari

The current Botanical Garden of Bari Institute was established in 1955, when a villa on the outskirts of the city, along with an attached agricultural land of 5,000 sqm, was donated to the Faculty of Sciences. The first attempt to create a Botanical Garden in Bari dates back to August 1813; a decree by Gioacchino Murat mandated that every provincial capital have an Agricultural Society (later called Economic Society) with an attached Garden for the experimentation and production of agricultural and ornamental plants. This Botanical Garden had a very short life, because the return of the Bourbons to the throne of Naples forced the newly formed Society to abandon its newly equipped headquarters and move to provisional premises. In 1858, after long disputes, the Municipality of Bari granted a land of 52 moggie near the coast, where the building of the Economic Society with an attached Garden was erected. This second attempt also failed due to the annexation of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Italy. Subsequently, due to the decree by Vittorio Emanuele II on February 11, 1886, the Society was permanently dissolved. In 1964, after some years from the founding of the Institute, which occurred in 1955, the area of the Garden was doubled. The new area was organized prioritizing regional flora.

12 Palazzo Simi

Palazzo Simi, current home of the Operational Center for Archaeology of Bari, is a Renaissance-era house that seals a dense and tight archaeological stratification both vertically and horizontally. The wall stratifications visitable in the palace’s basements, dating back to the early medieval and Romanesque periods, arose on the remains of the imperial era (1st century). The elegant spaces of the ground floor and upper floors are the result of expansions and transformations of the original medieval core into a historic residence, carried out between the 16th and 17th centuries.

13 Earth Science Museum

The Earth Science Museum of the Department of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences at the University of Bari Aldo Moro is based on the historical collections acquired by our University in the second half of the 1950s. The collections were kept until 1985 in the Palazzo Ateneo, then they were transferred to the Department of Earth and Geoenvironmental Sciences at the Palazzo di Scienze della Terra on the University Campus in designated rooms intended for museum exhibition. Currently, the Earth Science Museum includes a Geopaleontological section and a Mineralogical-Petrographic section and overall covers an area of about 1000 sqm.

14 Bari Museum of Zoology

The Museum of the Department of Biology “Lidia Liaci” at the University of Bari Aldo Moro was founded in 1925. After several relocations, in 1992 the Museum’s rooms were transferred to the University Campus. Today, it is an exhibition space of about 170 m2, divided into two rooms and houses just over a thousand zoological specimens. It conducts research activities, environmental protection, teaching, and scientific dissemination. The teaching activity is aimed at students of natural, biological, and environmental sciences and consists of practical exercises in identification and prospecting of preparations, projection of films, and seminars. Outreach activities, on the other hand, are carried out through guided tours for school groups of all levels, film screenings, use of multimedia technologies, and lecture series on aspects of animal life and nature conservation. It adheres to the Interdepartmental Service Center for Scientific Museology (CISMUS) and collaborates with numerous organizations for the study and protection of Apulian ecosystems.

15 Palace of the Apulian Aqueduct

The Palace of the Bari Aqueduct (Water Palace) was designed in 1924 by engineer Cesare Brunetti and completed in 1932. The style expressly referenced in the construction of the building is 20th century Cambellotti. The furnishings and the creation of decorations were commissioned from Duilio Cambellotti, who drew inspiration from the theme of water, employing specialized companies for the production of furniture, stained glass, and marble, terracotta, and wrought iron decorations. In 2000, the building underwent some transformations, especially on the first floor, for the opening of a museum dedicated to the History of the AQP and a conference room.

16 African-Mozambican Ethnographic Museum of Bari

The African Mozambican Ethnographic Museum was inaugurated in 1980. Work on its creation began as early as when the first Missionary Fathers arrived in Apulia in the 1950s. After 1950, repeatedly, the Missionaries continued to come to Italy for vacations and rest, bringing from Africa numerous and different local craft objects. These artifacts, initially collected in a room of the Sanctuary of Santa Fara, later, with the establishment of the museum, formed the central core of the museum.

17 Museum of the Overseas Fallen Memorial

The Overseas Military Fallen Memorial, created by engineers from the Ministry of Defense, was inaugurated on December 10, 1967. It houses the mortal remains of over 75,000 fallen soldiers, of which 45,000 are unknown, brought back to the homeland following the dismantling of war cemeteries built in overseas territories where Italian units operated during World War I and World War II (Balkans, North and East Africa). The large surrounding area, arranged as a park, hosts the open-air Museum with monuments to the fallen and military memorabilia. This Memorial is responsible for the Polish Military Cemetery of Casamassima, which houses the graves of 431 Polish fallen soldiers from World War II.

18 Other places to visit in Bari

• Archivio di Stato di Bari
• Biblioteca Nazionale Sagarriga Visconti Volpi

19 Around Bari: Torre Pelosa

In the hamlet of Torre a Mare di Bari, around 1500, in order to defend the coast from raids by pirates and bandits who infested the Adriatic Sea, a watchtower was built, still existing in the center of the main square. Since then, the locality took the name “Torre Apellosa” or “Torre Lapillosa“, later transformed into “Torre Pelosa”, and became a small fishing village whose inhabitants mostly lived in trulli and natural caves and repaired their boats in the small harbor at the mouth of the Giotta creek.

20 What to Eat in Bari

The dishes from Bari borrow from Apulian cuisine, although there are some strictly local ones. Among these is certainly the tiella barese (rice, potatoes, and mussels), but there are other dishes to enjoy as well. In this regard, we have written an article with some suggestions on what to eat and where in Bari.