Continuing on his journey between Puglia and Basilicata, this time our friend Massimo sends us some photos of Bari.
Thanks to its position and its port, it has always been a nerve center for the trade and cultural contacts with the Middle East.

It is also an important center of communication between Orthodox and Catholics because in its basilica there are the relics of St. Nicholas particularly revered by both the churches.

It is currently the seat of the Secretariat for the Pan-European Corridor VIII, that should facilitate the transports between Western and Eastern Europe.

A bit of history:
Though its origins are not historically clear, from some excavations in the old city a settlement dating back to the Bronze Age seems plausible and maybe of Cretan origin.
It took the name of Barë in the Messapic era.
From the third century BC it became part of the Roman domain and at the fall of the Roman Empire it was disputed between the Lombards and the Byzantines.
Afterwards it fell under Arab rule until 871, when it passed back to the Lombards and in 875 returned to the Byzantines. In 1071 it was conquered by the Normans.
Between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries it became the starting point for the crusades.
After a long period of decline, it regained its splendor thanks to the Duchesses Isabella of Aragon and Bona Sforza.
Later, during the domination of the Serenissima, the port was expanded with a consequent increase in trade.

For more info:
wikipedia: Bari
www.viaggiareinpuglia.it: Bari

Thanks to our friend Massimo for the permission of publishing his images