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BARI - ITALY
Bari is a seaport and archiepiscopal see of
Apulia, Italy, population 316,532 (2001). Bari is the capital of the
province of Apulia or Puglia, situated on a small peninsula projecting into
the Adriatic Sea.
The town consists of two parts, the closely built old town on the peninsula
to the north, and the new town to the south, which is laid out on a
rectangular plan. The former contains the cathedral of San Sabino a Bari,
begun in 1035 but not completed till 1171: the exterior preserves in the
main the fine original architecture (notably the dome and campanile), but
the interior has been modernized.
Not far off is the church of San Nicola
(Saint Nicholas), founded in 1087 to receive the relics of this saint,
which were brought from Myra in Lycia, and now lie beneath the altar in
the crypt. The church is one of the four Palatine churches of Apulia (the
others being the cathedrals of Acquaviva and Altamura, and the church of
Monte Sant' Angelo sul Gargano). Adjacent is the small church of San
Gregorio, belonging also to the 11th century. The castle, built in 1169,
and strengthened in 1233, lies on the west side of the old town.
Ancient Bari
Barium -- the old Latin name for Bari -- does not seem to have been a
place of great importance in early antiquity; only bronze coins struck
by it have been found. In Roman times it was the point of junction
between the coast road and the Via Traiana; there was also a branch road
to Tarentum from Barium. Its harbour, mentioned as early as 181 BC, was
probably the principal one of the district in ancient times, as at
present, and was the centre of a fishery.
Early Middle Age
Bari's greatest importance dates from the time when it became, in 852, a
seat of the Saracen power being Swadan the first emir, and in 885, the
residence of the Byzantine governor. In 1071 it was captured by Robert
Guiscard. In 1095 Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade there. In
1156 it was razed to the ground, and has several times suffered
destruction.
Cities in the Province of Bari
Alberobello
Conversano
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