Bari St. Nicholas town

Bari is a port city overlooking the Adriatic Sea, as well as the capital of the Apulia region, in Southern Italy. Its labyrinthine old town, Barivecchia, occupies a promontory between two ports. It is also known for being the city where the relics of Saint Nicholas rest. This condition made Bari and its basilica one of the favourite centers of the Orthodox Church in the West and also an important center of interfaith communication between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Surrounded by the typical narrow streets, the basilica of San Nicola, dating back to the eleventh century, is a favorite destination for pilgrims who come here to pay homage to the remains of the saint.

To the south, the Murat district is characterized by the majestic buildings of the nineteenth century, a long walk and the pedestrian area full of shops. Bari, moreover, has a solid mercantile-entrepreneurial tradition and has always been a focal point in trade and political-cultural contacts with the Middle East. Its port is the largest passenger port in the Adriatic Sea. Since 1930 the Fiera del Levante has been held in Bari, one of the main trade fairs in Italy.