Tag: technology

“THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – BARI to MONOPLI.”

This town was not on my itinerary either but that was part of Robert’s plans/expertise – to know what he wanted to do and drag us to these spots. It was quite exciting guessing his motivations. Monopoli is on the coast of the Adriatic Sea in the Metropolitan City of Bari and region of Apulia. As we strolled through the town towards the port, Robert guided us into a church quite different to the gaudy monuments typically found in Italy. Plain unimposing exterior with a very clean line inside leading to its purpose of prayer in the Christian faith. My first photo is the back of Robert’s head and the train directory identifying our station. Note his yellow jacket. Workplace Health and Safety dictates that he is clearly visible. You will observe this when we visit the church.

Monopoli was to provide quite a few unexpected sights. We crossed the town square and entered the port side where waterside apartments, fishing vessels, cargo ships, and expensive looking waterside houses of various eras hidden down narrow lane ways could be found. The last photo below is part of the square but on the opposite side to the fountain – a very large square for the town.

Once we had entered the port area it was quite obvious that the old and new sat comfortably together. Fishing continues to be an occupation in Monopoli and walking along the edge of the port we came upon a sight I was not expecting – a local fisherman repairing his nets on the port side surrounded by his mates chattering away and him focused on getting the nets ready to go fishing.

We are here out of season, so all the blue tourist boats are in the harbour. Our guide, wearing the brightest yellow jacket (it was cool, but he had to be seen), worked our way through the narrow lane ways filled with shops and apartments. The sign board below is but a few of the shops. The wine shop had its door handle made to represent its products. Check out the photo of the ancient downpipe set into the newly painted brick wall

Every turn he took we seemed to be losing our way but he always seemed to come back to the waterfront, always finding something old and something new side by side along the way. The garrison castle on the waterfront, now abandoned, told us something of the need to fortify against water borne menaces such as pirates and invaders. We could only access one part of the fort.

We could tell this was off season – there was no washing hanging from the lines between the holiday apartments. During off season repairs are performed. Actually there were times when our guide was reference the gps to find our way.

In the photo above you will notice a cathedral, the Basilica Cathedrale of Madonna della Madia in the background. It’s grandeur drew us to it. Our guide, distracted by his phone, missed the house with farmyard doors which appeared entirely out of place. The Basilica of the Madonna della Madia or Santa Maria della Madia was granted the status of a minor basilica in 1921. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of the Madonna della Madia, after an icon kept here. It shows the former wealth of the town with its ornate interior.

It seemed like hours that we had been ducking in and out of little lanes and not one coffee shop was open. Finally as we left the Basilica our eagle scout smelt or spotted an inviting coffee shop and it was time for a cuppa which got Kerry very excited and Robert curious as to why he had not found this place previously. Refreshed we headed back to the station and returned to Terni.

Well we were well and truly knackered particularly knowing we would do it all again tomorrow at Polignano a Mare. Stay tuned for “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – BARI to POLIGNANO A MARE”

“THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – “CESI to BARI”

Bari, Bari Vecchia (Old Town)

Bari is a large port town on the Adriatic Sea/east coast. We had a short visit some years ago as a day tour from a cruise ship. The town has a long history from Roman times through a period of occupation by an Islamic states and remains the largest port town for southern Italy with a population of over 300,000. It was intended by us as the jump off point to other small villages/towns, so we had selected a B&B near the railway station and the old town of Bari.

The trip into Bari showed the area to be a major agricultural area particularly for olives and grapes and the long settlement of the area with ramshackle rural areas to modern suburban outskirts. The pictures below show these features.

We walked to our accommodation which we found to be well located to the CBD, rail station and the old Town over the next few days. The first night we went to the grand piazza (sorry about the terrible picture but it turned out to be better than the others I had taken)

The piazza leads to the retail district which like any CBD is a hive of activity. English was promoted as the language to be learnt but I don’t know if this is a genuine UK institution.

Beyond the retail district the old town commences and sprawls down to the harbour, the castle and the port. Below are pictures of the streets and a vendor selling cold drinks and vegetables. As we came through the street the castle loomed large in front of us. It was not open for visitors which we found frustrating as this is summer no reason to turn away inquisitive tourists.

From the castle we made our way to the port. This is what Bari is famous for a good harbour. Car ferries were popular and likely transporting to Croatia just a hop skip and jump across the Adriatic. I loved the portraits on the silos reminding me of the silos in the south west of Queensland.

We continued to explore. We were puzzled about what we did when we visited the Port of Bari all those years ago so we set about to find where we had spent our time when we had not even heard of Bari. We could recall visiting a square with a famous church in it. We could not recall the name of the church we visited but after some wandering and searching we found it – Basilica Pontificia San Nicola. I have inserted photos of the church and its square below. In our search we discovered Roman ruins – a piazza with broken columns and tiled floor quietly reminding us of the grandeur of the past. As we continued to explore we came across the large Cathedral shown below and the community theatre open for business. Last but not least some modern plumbing not having the strength of the Roman structures.

Overall, it was a tidy town, always bustling and busy and a great place to see the countryside around it. Next stop/village is Monopoli so look out “THE RETIREES GO AROUND THE WORLD – “ BARI to MONOPOLI”