Day 2 Bari…Did someone say Pesca?

We woke up to a beautiful day and were happy to don shorts after our long pants and jackets in Venice. The ship’s captain did a marvelous job maneuvering this large mall into port. As he was doing this, we took advantage of the time to take a few fun ‘selfies’ and photos of Bari. We disembarked, got on the shuttle bus and started searching for the castle and cathedral. Happy to say we found both and more!

Funny when you’re not looking for anything in particular, you come across some great finds. Of course we had an agenda, but on the way we found a fish market and a restaurant nearby that prepared fresh caught items right off the boats. We promised ourselves to visit this place on our way back.

We first visited The Basilica de San Nicola

 

St. Nicola

The exterior is said to be a great example of Romanesque architecture. However the interiors have amazing examples of medieval architecture. Steve overheard a tour guide mention that Saint Nicola was a black man but he could not hear what made this man a saint… so anyone out there who knows anything about him please fill us in on this information. Thanks.

The Cathedral has a magnificent rose window that was visible from the ship as we came into dock. We were not disappointed. The window on the back wall of the church is the only decorative window - all the others are strictly functional. At the base of the altar there is a marble tile floor that mimics the window on the back wall. This church also has a crypt in a Romanesque Style. Elaborate gold gilded archways painted bright yellow and green, and the frescos of the Virgin Mary are pretty much intact.

Fresh fish from the boats today

Last we visited the Castle but it was not as impressive as the churches. However it still has certain dominance and the history museum of the reconstruction was educational.  We ended our little trip with a nice glass of wine sitting alfresco eating above the fish market. We then made our way back to the dock and it was bye, bye Bari.