The View From My Beer
A frothy glass of Birra Moretti looking towards the majestic Bari Cathedral. Today’s beer is dedicated to my good mate Shane Horton who’s celebrating his 65th birthday today. Cheers ‘H’.
Bari
Stop number four on my seven-day Adriatic Cruise was a return to Italy and the city of Bari.
My Walk
My walksing strategy has evolved a little on this cruise. I still like the idea of random walks as a way as a way of getting a more balanced view of each port of call. While coastal walks would always be a high priority, I have found on this Adriatic cruise that the old town unlock a lot of history and culture of the original civilizations that established these places. They are great places for random walks up and down the narrow winding lanes. The one place I wanted to visit today was a wish to visit the Basilica of St Nicholas, the origins of Santa Claus.
Bari Port
Today our cruise ship parked nice and close to the downtown area. As is often the case, I took a couple of photographs near where I got off the ship. Sometimes it gets difficult to remember the port you are in and where the ship is located. The geocoding of photos provide a simple way for me to plot a route back to the ship at the end of my walk. Today the port area featured a collection of 16 solos (8×2) that had been beautifully painted.
Old Town
The city wall and the entrance to the old town of Bari was next to the port. On this Adriatic cruise every port of call has had an old town and it was usually the most interesting place to visit. One of my goals for the day was to track down the Basillica of St Nicholas. By lkuck I soon found myself standing front of a statue of St Nicholas. St Nicholas was a 4th Century bishop in what is now Turkey. He was well known for his generosity. His legend is the basis for the modern Santa Claus figure. In 1087, the remains of St Nicholas were brought from Turkey to Bari and are held in this Basillica. In Bari he is celebrated as a saint rather than the modern commercial figure we all know.
The city wall protected the old city of Bari. It was filled with narry winding lanes comprising a combination of houses, shops, and cafes. There were lots of very of churches. Some were bold, bold, and prominent. Others were a little smalle and more subtle. I assume there are preservation orders that prevent builkding being rennovated in anything other than their original style. This helps to create a very authentic environment in which to roam and imagine what it must have been like to live or visit here centuries ago.
Coastal Walk
From Old Town I could see the coastline and what looked like an interesting walk. My first stop was the area where fishinging boats would park and fisherman would clean their catch before selling it at the nearby fish market. There were a lot of cafes along the forshore as well as some cute apartment building that overlooked the ocean.
New Bari
Today was one of those days when the coastal walk was not the most spectacular part of my day. On my return to the ship I decided to venture back a few blocks in from the coastline. This is where I discovered the newer part of town. The building were colorful and well maintained. What differentiated Bari from the orther Adriatic ports of call was the prominent use of wrought iron and flower baskets/pots to create a very different look and feel.
