When visiting Puglia, I ended up staying in Bari for two nights. Bari has a small old town, nice, but not spectacular compared to the sites of the area.

Two churches in Bari are part of the tentative site "Romanesque Cathedrals in Puglia". The churches in Bari also came recommend by a colleague, so I went and visited. Specifically, the Basilica di San Nicola left an impression: It's a blend of a church with a castle and the dimensions seem very off. My picture bears a bit witness for this as I had to use panorama mode to capture the full site.

All proposed sites (as taken from the nomination file) are:

• Bari - Basilica di San Nicola di Bari
• Bari - Cattedrale di Bari
• Bitonto - Cattedrale di Bitonto
• Molfetta - Cattedrale di Molfetta
• Ottranto - Cattedrale di Ottranto

OUV

These churches sure are nice and if you pass through Bari go and visit. But I am not convinced that they should be inscribed. Norman architecture is covered by the site in Sicily. And documenting each local flavor of a given style cannot be the point of world heritage sites. And my usual complaint: I don't like serial nominations all that much.

Getting There

Bari is well connected with all of Italy and the local transport hub for Puglia. You will probably pass through when visiting Puglia and the nearby WHS: Alberobello, Matera, and Castel del Monte. All WHS can be done on a day trip from Bari. In addition, you can travel to Monte Sant'Angelo, part of the Longobard places of power.

There are two other TWHS in the area: Lecce (strong recommendation to go and visit) and the Karstic Caves of Puglia.