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Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the
Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...
region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
after Naples. It is a port and university city, as well as the city of
Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...
. The city itself has a population of 315,284 inhabitants, over , while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. The
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
has 1.3 million inhabitants. Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the
Cathedral of San Sabino Bari Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Sabinus, ( it, Duomo di Bari or ''Cattedrale di San Sabino'') is the cathedral of Bari, in Apulia, southern Italy. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto, as it was previously of the a ...
(1035–1171) and the Hohenstaufen Castle built for Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district (the ''via Sparano'' and ''via Argiro''). Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls. In addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has a redeveloped airport, Karol Wojtyła Airport, with connections to several European cities.


History


Ancient

Bari itself known in antiquity as ''Barium'', was a harbour of the
Iapygian The Iapygians or Apulians (; el, Ἰάπυγες, ''Ĭāpyges''; la, Iāpyges, Iapygii, Umbrian ''Iabuscer'') were an Indo-European-speaking people, dwelling in an eponymous region of the southeastern Italian Peninsula named Iapygia (modern Ap ...
Peuceti. The authors of the Etymologicum Magnum have preserved an etymology by authors of antiquity about ''Barium'', which they explain as the word "house" in
Messapic Messapic (; also known as Messapian; or as Iapygian) is an extinct Indo-European language of the southeastern Italian Peninsula, once spoken in Apulia by the Iapygian peoples of the region: the ''Calabri'' and ''Salentini'' (known collectively as ...
. The city had strong Greek influences before the Roman era. In ancient Greek, it was known as ''Βάριον''. In the 3rd century BC, it became part of the Roman Republic and was subsequently Romanized. The city developed strategic significance as the point of junction between the coast road and the Via Traiana and as a port for eastward trade; a branch road to
Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...
led from Barium. Its harbour, mentioned as early as 181 BC, was probably the principal one of the districts in ancient times, as it is at present, and was the centre of a fishery. The first historical bishop of
Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
was
Gervasius Gervasius is a masculine given name. It may refer to: * Gervasius and Protasius, Christian martyrs, probably in the 2nd century * Gervase of Tilbury (Gervasius Tilberiensis in Latin) (c. 1150–1220), English canon lawyer, statesman and cleric * G ...
who was noted at the Council of Sardica in 347. The bishops were dependent on the
Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
until the 10th century.


Middle Ages

After the devastations of the Gothic Wars, under Longobard rule a set of written regulations was established, the ''Consuetudines Barenses'', which influenced similar written constitutions in other southern cities. Until the arrival of the Normans, Bari continued to be governed by the Longobards and Byzantines, with only occasional interruption. Throughout this period, and indeed throughout the Middle Ages, Bari served as one of the major
slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
depots of the Mediterranean, providing a central location for the trade in Slavic slaves. The slaves were mostly captured by
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
from
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, the Holy Roman Empire from what is now Prussia and Poland, and the Byzantines from elsewhere in the Balkans, and were generally destined for other parts of the Byzantine Empire and (most frequently) the Muslim states surrounding the Mediterranean: the Abbasid Caliphate, the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba, the
Emirate of Sicily The Emirate of Sicily ( ar, إِمَارَة صِقِلِّيَة, ʾImārat Ṣiqilliya) was an Islamic kingdom that ruled the island of Sicily from 831 to 1091. Its capital was Palermo (Arabic: ''Balarm''), which during this period became a ...
, and the
Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...
(which relied on Slavs purchased at the Bari market for its legions of Sakalaba Mamluks). For 20 years, Bari was the centre of the Emirate of Bari; the city was captured by its first emirs
Kalfun The Emirate of Bari was a short-lived Islamic state in Apulia ruled by non-Arabs, probably Berbers and Black Africans. Controlled from the South Italian city of Bari, it was established about 847 when the region was taken from the Byzantine Em ...
in 847, who had been part of the mercenary garrison installed there by Radelchis I of Benevento. The city was conquered and the emirate extinguished in 871 following five-year campaign by
Emperor Louis II Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...
, assisted by a Byzantine fleet. Chris Wickham states Louis spent five years campaigning to reduce then occupy Bari, "and then only to a Byzantine/Slav naval blockade"; "Louis took the credit" for the success, adding "at least in Frankish eyes", then concludes by noting that by remaining in southern Italy long after this success, he "achieved the near-impossible: an alliance against him of the Beneventans, Salernitans, Neapolitans and Spoletans; later sources include Sawadān as well." In 885, Bari became the residence of the local Byzantine ''
catapan The ''katepánō'' ( el, κατεπάνω, lit. "he oneplaced at the top", or " the topmost") was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the ...
'', or governor. The failed revolt (1009–1011) of the Lombard nobles Melus of Bari and his brother-in-law Dattus, against the Byzantine governorate, though it was firmly repressed at the
Battle of Cannae (1018) The Battle of Cannae was a battle that took place in 1018 between the Byzantines under the Catepan of Italy Basil Boioannes and the Lombards under Melus of Bari.John Beeler (1971) ''Warfare in Feudal Europe, 730–1200''. Cornell University Pre ...
, offered their
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
adventurer allies a first foothold in the region. In 1025, under the Archbishop Byzantius, Bari became attached to the see of Rome and was granted "
provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
" status. In 1071, Bari was captured by
Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...
, following a three-year siege. The Basilica di San Nicola was founded in 1087 to receive the relics of this saint, which were surreptitiously brought from
Myra Myra ( grc, Μύρα, ''Mýra'') was a Lycian, then ancient Greek, then Greco-Roman, then Byzantine Greek, then Ottoman town in Lycia, which became the small Turkish town of Kale, renamed Demre in 2005, in the present-day Antalya Province of ...
in Lycia, in Byzantine territory. The saint began his development from Saint Nicholas of Myra into Saint Nicholas of Bari and began to attract pilgrims, whose encouragement and care became central to the economy of Bari. In 1095 Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade there. In October 1098, Urban II, who had consecrated the Basilica in 1089, convened the
Council of Bari The Council of Bari was convened and presided over by Pope Urban II in Bari, Italy, in October 1098 during the First Crusade. It was attended by 185 bishops, both Catholic and Orthodox. Council The official record of its acts have been lost, but h ...
, one of a series of
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
s convoked with the intention of reconciling the Greeks and Latins on the question of the filioque clause in the Creed, which Anselm ably defended, seated at the pope's side. The Greeks were not brought over to the Latin way of thinking. A civil war broke out in Bari in 1117 with the murder of the archbishop, Riso. Control of Bari was seized by Grimoald Alferanites, a native Lombard, and he was elected lord in opposition to the Normans. By 1123, he had increased ties with
Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
and
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
and taken the title ''gratia Dei et beati Nikolai barensis princeps''. Grimoald increased the cult of St Nicholas in his city. He later did homage to
Roger II of Sicily Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...
, but rebelled and was defeated in 1132. Bari was occupied by
Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...
between 1155 and 1158. Maio of Bari (died 1160), a Lombard merchant's son, was the third of the great admirals of Norman Sicily. In 1246, Bari was sacked and razed to the ground;
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (German language, German: ''Friedrich''; Italian language, Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Em ...
and King of Sicily, repaired the fortress of Baris but it was subsequently destroyed several times. Bari recovered each time.


Early modern period

Isabella d'Aragona Isabella of Aragon (2 October 1470 – 11 February 1524), also known as Isabella of Naples, was by marriage Duchess of Milan and ''suo jure'' Duchess of Bari. A member of the Neapolitan branch of the House of Trastamara, her life was characteri ...
, princess of Naples and widow of the Duke
Gian Galeazzo Sforza Gian Galeazzo Sforza (20 June 1469 – 21 October 1494), also known as Giovan Galeazzo Sforza, was the sixth Duke of Milan. Early life Born in Abbiategrasso, he was only seven years old when in 1476 his father, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, was assa ...
of Milan, enlarged the castle, which she made her residence, 1499–1524. After the death of Queen
Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...
, of Poland, Bari came to be included in the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
and its history contracted to a local one, as malaria became endemic in the region. Bari was awakened from its provincial somnolence by Napoleon's brother-in-law Joachim Murat. As Napoleonic King of Naples, Murat ordered the building in 1808 of a new section of the city, laid out on a rationalist
grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
, which bears his name today as the ''Murattiano''. Under this stimulus, Bari developed into the most important port city of the region. The legacy of Mussolini can be seen in the imposing architecture along the seafront.


World War II

On 11 September 1943, in connection with the
Armistice of Cassibile The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...
, Bari was taken without resistance by the
British 1st Airborne Division The 1st Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was formed in late 1941 during the Second World War, after the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, demanded an airb ...
, then during October and November 1943, New Zealand troops from the 2nd New Zealand Division assembled in Bari. The Balkan Air Force supporting the Yugoslav partisans was based at Bari.


The 1943 chemical warfare disaster

Through a tragic coincidence intended by neither of the opposing sides in World War II, Bari gained the unwelcome distinction of being the only European city in the course of that war to experience effects like those of
chemical warfare Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...
. On the night of 2 December 1943, 105 German Junkers Ju 88 bombers attacked the port of Bari, which was a key supply centre for
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces fighting their way up the Italian Peninsula. Over 20 Allied ships were sunk in the overcrowded harbour, including the U.S. Liberty ship ''
John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...
'', which was carrying
mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
; mustard gas was also reported to have been stacked on the quayside awaiting transport (the chemical agent was intended for retaliation if German forces had initiated chemical warfare). The presence of the gas was highly classified and the U.S. had not informed the British military authorities in the city of its existence. This increased the number of fatalities, since British physicians—who had no idea that they were dealing with the effects of mustard gas—prescribed treatment proper for those suffering from exposure and immersion, which proved fatal in many cases. Because rescuers were unaware they were dealing with gas casualties, many additional casualties were caused among the rescuers, through contact with the contaminated skin and clothing of those more directly exposed to the gas. Following the attack, the harbor was closed for operations for three weeks and it did not return to full capacity until February 1944. A member of U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower's medical staff, Stewart F. Alexander, was dispatched to Bari following the raid. Alexander had trained at the Army's
Edgewood Arsenal Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at ...
in Maryland, and was familiar with some of the effects of mustard gas. Although he was not informed of the cargo carried by the ''John Harvey'', and most victims suffered atypical symptoms caused by exposure to mustard diluted in water and oil (as opposed to airborne), Alexander rapidly concluded that mustard gas was present. Although he could not get any acknowledgement of this from the chain of command, Alexander convinced medical staffs to treat patients for mustard exposure and saved many lives as a result. He also preserved many tissue samples from autopsied victims at Bari. After World War II, these samples would result in the development of an early form of chemotherapy based on mustard,
Mustine Chlormethine (INN, BAN), also known as mechlorethamine (USAN, USP), mustine, HN2, and (in post-Soviet states) embikhin (эмбихин), is a nitrogen mustard sold under the brand name Mustargen among others. It is the prototype of alkylating a ...
.. On the orders of Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, and Eisenhower, records were destroyed and the whole affair was kept secret for many years after the war. The U.S. records of the attack were declassified in 1959, but the episode remained obscure until 1967, when writer Glenn B. Infield exposed the story in his book ''Disaster at Bari''. Additionally, there is considerable dispute as to the exact number of fatalities. In one account: " xty-nine deaths were attributed in whole or in part to the mustard gas, most of them American merchant seamen". Others put the count as high as "more than one thousand Allied servicemen and more than one thousand Italian civilians". Part of the confusion and controversy derives from the fact that the German attack, which became nicknamed "The Little Pearl Harbor" after the Japanese air attack on the American naval base in Hawaii, was highly destructive in itself, apart from the effects of the gas. Attribution of the causes of death to the gas, as distinct from the direct effects of the German attack, has proved far from easy. The affair is the subject of two books: the aforementioned ''Disaster at Bari'', by Glenn B. Infield, and ''Nightmare in Bari: The World War II Liberty Ship Poison Gas Disaster and Coverup'', by Gerald Reminick. In 1988 through the efforts of
Nick T. Spark Nick T. Spark is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. Films he has written, directed or produced include '' Regulus: The First Nuclear Missile Submarines'' (2001) the Emmy award-winning ''The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom ...
, U.S. Senators
Dennis DeConcini Dennis Webster DeConcini (; born May 8, 1937) is an American lawyer, philanthropist, politician and former Democratic U.S. Senator from Arizona. The son of former Arizona Supreme Court Judge Evo Anton DeConcini, he represented Arizona in the Unit ...
and
Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...
, Dr. Stewart Alexander received recognition from the
Surgeon General of the United States Army The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). By policy, the Surgeon General (TSG) serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as well as head of the ...
for his actions during the Bari disaster.


''Charles Henderson'' explosion

The port of Bari was again struck by disaster on 9 April 1945 when the Liberty ship '' Charles Henderson'' exploded in the harbour while offloading 2000 tons of aerial bombs (half of that amount had been offloaded when the explosion occurred). Three hundred and sixty people were killed and 1730 were wounded. The harbour was again rendered nonoperational, this time for a month. File:Bari explosion view from Barracks crop sm.jpg, 9 April 1945 – View from the barracks. Photo by WOJG Hubert Platt Henderson who was stationed at Bari as the Director of the 773rd Band File:Bari Explosion 1.jpg, 9 April 1945 – Photo by WOJG Hubert Platt Henderson who was stationed at Bari as the Director of the 773rd Band File:Italy 4 Bari Explosion front b.jpg, 9 April 1945 – Photo by WOJG Hubert Platt Henderson who was stationed at Bari as the Director of the 773rd Band


Geography

Bari is the largest urban and metro area on the
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
. It is located in
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
, at a more northerly latitude than Naples, further south than Rome.


Climate

Bari has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen: ''Csa'') with mild winters and hot, dry summers.


Quarters

Bari is divided into five municipalities (''Municipi''), constituted in 2014. The municipality is also divided into 17 official neighbourhoods ("
quartieri A (; plural: ) is a territorial subdivision of certain Italian towns. The word derives from (‘fourth’) and was thus properly used only for towns divided into four neighborhoods by the two main roads. It has been later used as a synonymous ...
").


Architectural landmarks

* ''
Teatro Margherita Teatro Margherita is a former theatre in the city of Bari, Apulia on the east coast of Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle ...
''. * ''
Teatro Piccinni Teatro Piccinni is a theatre in the city of Bari, Apulia on the east coast of Italy. It was founded in 1854 and opened on 30 May of that year. It was named in honor of eighteenth-century composer Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 J ...
''. * ''
Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bari The Orto Botanico di APS Parco Domingo Comunità Empatica e Sostenibile Bari, also known as the Orto Domingo, Orto dei Miracoli, and Hortus Botanicus Barensis, is a botanical garden in Bari, Apulia, Italy. The garden was established in 1955, opene ...
'', a botanical garden. * ''Santa Chiara'', once church of the Teutonic Knights (as ''Santa maria degli Alemanni'') and now houses a museum. It was restored in 1539. * The Acquedotto Pugliese * The medieval church of San Marco dei Veneziani, with a
rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
in the façade. * '' Conservatory of Bari'' * ''San Giorgio degli Armeni''. * ''Santa Teresa dei Maschi'', the main Baroque church in the city (1690–1696). * ''Pane e Pomodoro'' Beach is the main beach within reach of the city. Its reputation has for several years suffered from the apparent presence of asbestos from nearby industrial plants. * Bari features two sea harbours: the Old Port and the New Port, constructed in 1850.


Basilica of Saint Nicholas

The '' Basilica di San Nicola'' (Saint Nicholas) was founded in 1087 to receive the relics of this saint, which were brought from
Myra Myra ( grc, Μύρα, ''Mýra'') was a Lycian, then ancient Greek, then Greco-Roman, then Byzantine Greek, then Ottoman town in Lycia, which became the small Turkish town of Kale, renamed Demre in 2005, in the present-day Antalya Province of ...
in Lycia, and now lie beneath the altar in the
crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
, where are buried the Topins, which are a legacy of old thieves converted to
good faith In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case ...
. The church is one of the four Palatine churches of Apulia (the others being the cathedrals of Acquaviva delle Fonti and
Altamura Altamura (, ; nap, label= Barese, Ialtamùre) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basilic ...
, and the church of Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano).


Bari Cathedral

Bari Cathedral Bari Cathedral, or Cathedral of Saint Sabinus, ( it, Duomo di Bari or ''Cattedrale di San Sabino'') is the cathedral of Bari, in Apulia, southern Italy. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto, as it was previously of the arc ...
, dedicated to
Saint Sabinus of Canosa :''for other people called Sabinus, see Sabinus (disambiguation)'' Saint Sabinus of Canosa ( it, San Sabino) (461 – 9 February 566), venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic church, was bishop of Canosa di Puglia from 514. Life He was sent tw ...
(''San Sabino''), was begun in Byzantine style in 1034, but was destroyed in the sack of the city of 1156. A new building was thus built between 1170 and 1178, partially inspired by that of San Nicola. Of the original edifice, only traces of the pavement are today visible in the transept. An example of Apulian Romanesque architecture, the church has a simple Romanesque façade with three portals; in the upper part is a rose window decorated with monstruous and fantasy figures. The interior has a nave and two aisles, divided by sixteen columns with arcades. The
crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
houses the relics of Saint Sabinus and the icon of the '' Madonna Odigitria''. The interior and the façade were redecorated in
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
style during the 18th century, but these additions were removed in a 1950s restoration.


Petruzzelli Theatre

The Petruzzelli Theatre, founded in 1903, hosted different forms of live entertainment, or nineteenth century "Politeama". The theatre was all but destroyed in a fire on October 27, 1991. It was reopened in October 2009, after 18 years.


Swabian Castle

The Norman-Hohenstaufen Castle, widely known as the ''Castello Svevo'' (Swabian Castle), was built by
Roger II of Sicily Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...
around 1131. Destroyed in 1156, it was rebuilt by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. The castle now serves as a gallery for a variety of temporary exhibitions in the city.


Pinacoteca Provinciale di Bari

The Pinacoteca Provinciale di Bari (Provincial Picture Gallery of Bari) is the most important art gallery in Apulia. It was first established in 1928 and contains many paintings from the 15th century up to the days of contemporary art.


The Russian Church

The Russian Church of Saint Nicholas, in the Carrassi district of Bari, was built in the early 20th century to welcome Russian pilgrims who came to the city to visit the church of Saint Nicholas in the old city where the relics of the saint remain. The city council and Italian national government were recently involved in a trade-off with the Putin government in Moscow, exchanging the piece of land on which the church stands, for, albeit indirectly, a
military barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
near Bari's central railway station.


''Barivecchia''

''Barivecchia'', or Old Bari, is a sprawl of streets and passageways making up the section of the city to the north of the modern Murat area. Barivecchia was until fairly recently considered a no-go area by many of Bari's residents due to the high levels of petty crime. A large-scale redevelopment plan began with a new sewerage system, followed by the development of the two main squares, Piazza Mercantile and Piazza Ferrarese.


Demographics

, there were 316,491 people residing in Bari (about 1.6 million lived in the greater Bari area in 2015), located in the province of Bari, Puglia, of whom 47.9% were male and 52.1% were female. , minors (children ages 18 and younger) totaled 17.90 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 19.08 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Bari residents is 42 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Bari grew by 2.69 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The current birth rate of Bari is 8.67 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. , 3.8% of the population was foreign residents.


Migration

According to an urban migration study in Bari, return migration gain to urban areas is higher than migration loss from urban areas. People migrating from urban destinations tend to migrate to different places in comparison to people migrating from rural areas. These findings are based on the background and behavior of a sample of 211 return migrants to Bari, Italy. Bari is a port city, making it historically important because of its strong trade links with Greece, North Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean. Bari's economic structure is based on industry, commerce, services, and administration. Around two-thirds of the city's employment is in the tertiary sector with its port, commerce, and administrative functions. The highest percentage of Bari's working population is employed in services, with 45.6%. From 1958 to 1982, around 20% of migrants left Bari for other Italian communes, while around 17% or migrants came to Bari from other Italian communes. Under 2% of migrants left Bari to go abroad and came to the city from abroad.


Culture


Fiera del Levante

The Fiera del Levante, held in September in the Fiera site on the west side of Bari city center, focuses on agriculture and industry, There is also a "Fair of Nations" which displays handcrafted and locally produced goods from all over the world.


Cuisine and gastronomy

Bari's cuisine is based on three typical agricultural products found within the surrounding region of Apulia, namely wheat, olive oil and wine. The local cuisine is also enriched by the wide variety of fruit and vegetables produced locally. Local flour is used in homemade bread and pasta production including, most notably, the famous '' orecchiette'' ear-shaped pasta, ''recchietelle'' or ''strascinate'', ''chiancarelle'' (orecchiette of different sizes) and '' cavatelli''. Homemade dough is also used for baked '' calzoni'' stuffed with onions, anchovies, capers, olives, etc.; fried '' panzerotti'' with mozzarella and/or ricotta forte; ''focaccia alla barese'' with tomatoes, olives and oregano; little savoury '' taralli'', and larger ''friselle''; and ''sgagliozze'', fried slices of polenta; all making up the Barese culinary repertoire. Vegetable minestrone, chick peas, broad beans, chicory, celery and fennel are also often served as first courses or side dishes. Meat dishes and the local Barese '' ragù'' often include lamb and pork.
Pasta al forno ("pasta to the oven", i.e. "baked pasta"), or , is a typical dish of Italian cuisine, made of (usually short) pasta covered with bechamel and tomato sauce and cheese and cooked in the oven. History Baked pasta can ideally be divided in two ...
, a baked pasta dish, is very popular in Bari and was historically a Sunday dish, or a dish used at the start of
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
when all the rich ingredients such as eggs and pork had to be used for religious reasons. The recipe commonly consists of '' penne'' or similar tubular pasta shapes, a tomato sauce, small beef and pork meatballs and halved hard-boiled eggs. The pasta is then topped with '' mozzarella'' or similar cheese and then baked in the oven to make the dish have its trademark crispy texture. Another popular pasta dish is the
spaghetti all'assassina (; ), also known as spaghetti bruciati (; ), is a Barese spaghetti dish. Its preparation is markedly different from other spaghetti dishes; instead of being boiled in salted water and finished in sauce, the pasta is cooked directly on the pan ...
. It is a slightly crunchy spaghetti dish, cooked in an iron pan with garlic, olive oil, chili pepper, tomato sauce and tomato broth. Fresh fish and seafood are often eaten raw. Octopus, sea urchins and mussels feature heavily. Perhaps Bari's most famous dish is the oven-baked ''patate, riso e cozze'' (potatoes with rice and mussels). Bari and the whole Apulian region have a range of wines, including
Primitivo Zinfandel (also known as Primitivo) is a variety of black-skinned wine grape. The variety is grown in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA analysis has revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grapes Crljenak Kaštel ...
, Castel del Monte, and Muscat, notably Moscato di Trani.


Language

The dialect of Bari belongs to the upper-southern Italo-Romance family, and currently coexists with Italian; generally these are used in different contexts.


Notable people

*
Licia Albanese Licia Albanese (July 22, 1909 – August 15, 2014) was an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera from 1940 ...
* Giovanni Alemanno *
Emanuele Arciuli Emanuele Arciuli (born in Galatone on 28 June 1965) is an Italian classical pianist. Biography He received his diploma from the Conservatory of Bari. After graduation, he continued his piano studies with Vincenzo Vitale, Paolo Bordoni and Le ...
* Argyrus (catepan of Italy) *
Francesco Attolico Francesco Attolico (born 23 March 1963 in Bari) is a retired water polo goalkeeper from Italy, who represented his native country at three consecutive Summer Olympics: 1992, 1996 and 2000. See also * Italy men's Olympic water polo team record ...
*
Lino Banfi Lino Banfi (born Pasquale Zagaria; 9 July 1936) is an Italian film actor and presenter. He has appeared in more than 100 films since 1960. Biography He was born in the Apulian city of Andria and at the age of three, moved to Canosa di Puglia. Li ...
*
Alessio Bax Alessio Bax (born 1977 in Bari) is an Italian classical pianist. He graduated from the Bari conservatory at the record age of 14. He won the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan at age 19 and the Leeds International Pianoforte Compet ...
* Pope Benedict XIII *
Gioia Bruno Gioia Bruno (born Carmen Gioia Bruno June 11, 1963, sometimes professionally credited as just Gioia) is an Italian-born American popular music singing, singer, most noted as a member of the vocal group Exposé (band), Exposé. In September 2006, ...
* Gianrico Carofiglio * Antonio Cassano * Riccardo Cucciolla *
Niccolò dell'Arca Niccolò dell’Arca (c. 1435-1440 – 2 March 1494) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor, who worked mostly in terracotta. He is also known under the names Niccolò da Ragusa, Niccolò da Bari and Niccolò d'Antonio d'Apulia. The s ...
* Franco Giordano *
Alfredo Giovine Alfredo Giovine (2 April 1907 – 25 August 1995) was an Italian historian, folklorist, dialectologist, and journalist. He wrote several books and many monographs on the musicians and theatres of the Province of Bari and the surrounding Region of ...
* Ivan Iusco * Gaetano Latilla *
Guido Marzulli Guido Marzulli is a figurative Italian painter . Biography Guido Marzulli was born in Bari, July 8, 1943. His father – Michele Marzulli, who was also a poet and writer – and his mother Rosa Tosches were skilled painters. He began his art ...
*
Antonio Matarrese Antonio Matarrese (born 4 July 1940) is an Italian sports manager for football. He is known for having owned A.S. Bari for almost 20 years. Family His brothers also worked in notable positions. Giuseppe Matarrese, was the Bishop of Frascati from ...
*
Domenico Modugno Domenico Modugno (; 9 January 1928 – 6 August 1994) was an Italian singer, actor and, later in life, a member of the Italian Parliament. He is known for his 1958 international hit song "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (song), Nel blu dipinto di blu", ...
* Aldo Moro * Pomponio Nenna *
Mario Nuzzolese Mario Nuzzolese (10 December 1915 – 21 October 2008), was an Italian Lieutenant Colonel, teacher, journalist and film critic. He led the Italian cinema and entertainment culture. He contributed to the management and development of the National ...
* Joe Orlando *
Anna Oxa Anna Hoxha (; born 28 April 1961), known professionally as Anna Oxa (), is an Italian singer, actress, and television presenter. Oxa has received mainstream popularity and recognition within Italy due to her numerous participations in the Sanremo ...
* Pino Pascali * Nico Perrone * Niccolò Piccinni * Victor Posa * Francesco Riefolo *
Rocco Rodio Rocco Rodio (c. 1535 – 1607) was an Italian Renaissance composer and theorist, best known for his sacred works and keyboard ricercares. Biography He was born in Bari and apparently led a cosmopolitan life, at some point working at the Polis ...
* Sergio Rubini * Gaetano Salvemini *
Bona Sforza Bona Sforza d'Aragona (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, and Duchess of Bari and Rossano by her own right. She was a surviving member of ...
* Cesare Stea * Pope Urban VI *
Nichi Vendola Nicola "Nichi" Vendola (; born 26 August 1958) is an Italian left-wing politician and LGBT activist who was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies from Apulia from 1992 to 2005 and President of Apulia from 2005 to 2015. He is one of the first o ...
*
Checco Zalone Luca Pasquale MediciZalone, Checco
in ''
Local football club S.S.C. Bari, currently competing in Serie B (as of the 2022–2023 season), plays in the
Stadio San Nicola The Stadio San Nicola ( en, Saint Nicholas Stadium) is a multi-use all-seater stadium designed by Renzo Piano in Bari, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of S.S.C. Bari. The stadium's design resembles ...
, an architecturally innovative 58,000-seater stadium purpose-built for the
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...
. The stadium also hosted the
1991 European Cup Final The 1991 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy, on 29 May 1991, that saw Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia defeat Marseille of France in a penalty shoot-out. After normal time and extra time could ...
.


Transport

Bari has its own airport, Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport, which is located northwest of the centre of Bari. It is connected to the centre by train services from Bari Aeroporto railway station. Bari Central Station lies on the
Adriatic railway The Adriatic railway (Italian: ''Ferrovia Adriatica'') is the railway from Ancona to Lecce that runs along the Adriatic Coast of Italy, following it almost all of the way. It is one of the main lines of the Italian rail system and links the ...
and has connection to cities such as Rome, Milan, Bologna, Turin and
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
. Another mainline is connection southwards by the Bari-Taranto railway. The
Bari metropolitan railway service The Bari metropolitan railway service is a commuter rail service in the Italian city Bari. It consists of two lines, joining the central railway station, located in the city centre, with the dormitory suburb San Paolo (line FM1) and with the ...
operates local commuter services; while regional services also operate to
Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...
, Barletta,
Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...
,
Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...
, Taranto and other towns and villages in the Apulia region. Bari has an old fishery port (''Porto Vecchio'') and a so-called new port in the north, as well as some marinas. The Port of Bari is an important cargo transport hub to S.E.Europe. Various passenger transport lines include some seasonal ferry lines to Albania, Montenegro or Dubrovnik. Bari- Igoumenitsa is a popular ferry line to Greece, some cruise ships anchor in Bari too.


Public transportation statistics

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Bari, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 57 minutes. 11% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 18 minutes, while 40% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is , while 2% travel for over in a single direction.


Twin towns — sister cities

Bari is twinned with: * Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Batumi, Georgia *
Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
, Greece * Durrës, Albania * Guangzhou, China * Kostroma, Russia *
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...
, Argentina * Monte Sant'Angelo, Italy *
Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...
, Spain *
Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...
, Greece * San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy * Słupsk, Poland *
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
, Poland *
Sumgait Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Bak ...
, Azerbaijan


In popular culture

The Guido Guerrieri novels by Gianrico Carofiglio are set in Bari, where Guerrieri is a criminal lawyer, and include many descriptions of the town. Bari is one of the primary settings of the detective novel '' The Black Mountain'' by Rex Stout. It is the characters' point of embarkation to Communist Yugoslavia. In the 1995 film ''
The Bridges of Madison County ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (also published as ''Love in Black and White'') is a 1992 best-selling romance novel by American writer Robert James Waller that tells the story of a married Italian-American woman (WWII war bride) living on a ...
'', Italian housewife Francesca Johnson ( Meryl Streep), is mentioned as being from Bari and growing up in Naples. The 2020 Edoardo Ponti film '' La vita davanti a sé'', starring
Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...
, is set in Bari.


Gallery

File:Castello normanno-svevo (Bari) 2017.jpg File:Izlošci zbirke u Bariju.jpg File:Bari u rujnu.jpg File:Palazzo del Governo (Bari).jpg File:Spomenik u talijanskom gradu Bariju.jpg File:Palazzo delle Finanze (Bari).jpg File:Katedrala sv. Sabina.jpg File:Katedrala sv. Sabina, Bari, Apulija.jpg File:U Bazilici svetog Nikole u Bariju 2017.jpg File:Nadvratnik crkve u Bariju.jpg File:U Bariju u crkvi 2017.jpg File:Crkva, Bari 2017.jpg File:Muzej sv. Nikole.jpg File:U Bariju gradu.jpg


See also

*
Accademia Apulia Youmanity is a UK-based organisation founded in 2008, registered as a charity in May 2018, and based in London. Charity work Youmanity sponsors an annual photography award, mental health and education projects. Youmanity Award for photography ...
* Antivari (means "opposite Bari") *
Bari Light Bari Light, also known as Punta San Cataldo di Bari Lighthouse ( it, Faro di Punta San Cataldo di Bari) is an active lighthouse placed at the base of Molo San Cataldo, on the west side of the harbour of Bari on the Adriatic Sea, in the southern ...
, the Punta San Cataldo di Bari Lighthouse * Durres *
Polytechnic University of Bari The Polytechnic University of Bari ( it, Politecnico di Bari) is a university located in Bari, Italy. It was founded in 1990 and it is organized in 5 Departments. In 2018, around 10,072 students were enrolled. In 2018, the academic staff amounte ...
* Province of Bari * University of Bari


References


Further reading

* Glenn B. Infield. 1973. ''Disaster at Bari''. Ace Books. New York, N.Y. * Vito Antonio Melchiorre. 2001. ''Note storiche su Bari''.


External links


City of Bari



Province of Bari

Region of Apulia




in the '' Catholic Encyclopedia'' {{Authority control Cities and towns in Apulia Coastal towns in Apulia Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy Port cities and towns of the Adriatic Sea