Bari

We stop for a coffee at a charming little courtyard cafe. Italian coffee, so good and so cheap.

The old city is a maze of narrow stone flagged streets, washing hanging from balconies,

and shrines everywhere

Our B&B is very centrally located, just inside the old city wall and off Piazza Mercantile

It’s up two flights of steep and narrow steps. Whenever Vera complains about this I point out that they might be steep, narrow, poorly lit, and lacking head-space, but they are finest marble.

Our flat is quite simple, but we don’t need very much and the bed is very comfy. It has a small coffee machine which whirrs and rattles but makes a very nice coffee

One of the things I love about Italian towns is the provision of drinking fountains. So civilised

There are two big churches in the city, of which the Cattedrale di San Sabino is the more impressive:

a carved candle holder with a series of biblical stories spiralling up the column

Saint Nicolas keeping an eye on proceedings

A very ornate crypt

with a fine collection of ancient relics. Like moondust, bits of the more famous saints are a limited supply and you only get a small amount

This is the body of Saint Columba, martyred in 273 after refusing to marry the son of emperor Aurelian. Imprisoned in a brothel by the amphitheatre, she was protected by a she-bear. Woman and bear were then to be burnt, but the bear escaped and a sudden downpour extinguished the fire. She was then beheaded. She now protects pigeons and her name is invoked to bring rain and alleviate drought

You could easily spend a day simply wandering through the streets

After lunch we visited the Castle, very well maintained, with exhibits telling something of the evolution of the city and a random but interesting collection of plaster casts of archectural building features

We stroll along what is left of the city walls

In the street next to our flat there turns out to be a specialist beer bar, with a range of Belgian beers. We are told that it is also the opening night of a new pizza restaurant across the road and that they will be giving away free pizza. So it looks like we are sorted for food and ale

Soon an enormous queue forms

TV cameras are there, along with presenters from Bari Today. It’s a big event, and it looks unlikely that we will be getting our tea there: the crowds mean that people are only getting a quarter of a pizza, though later on as the crowds thin this ration increases to half and then full pizzas

So we wander off in search of a less manic pizzeria, which proved surprisingly elusive. We did find one in the end, a very simple outlet on a quiet street, but still doing a brisk trade

We returned to our bar for a last drink. Pizzas were still being sent out the door, and new customers were still arriving. Clearly a very successful launch

For our final beers the owner gives us a bag of crisps to share. My previous experience of Italy has been that it is impossible to order a drink without also being provided with a little something to eat. Whether a few nuts or crisps, or more elaborate bruschetta. On this trip, so far, this hasn’t happened. A change in Italian culture or a southern Italy thing? Further research is needed

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