Planning an additional day in Bari was done on a whim. We did not really have a ¨Bari agenda¨ but looking at maps and recognizing the size of the area of interest we thought an additional day may be needed to get a more complete feel. From the internet, ¨Bari is the capital city of the of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples.¨ So today our plan was to see some more of Vecchia, the old quarter, and visit the neighbourhood beside it known as the Murat District.
We left our room with a plan to walk to a famous Bari theatre house and set off along the straight and organized streets of Murat. We found the streets to be comfortable for walking with traffic lights and cross walks at the corners and blocks full of shopping opportunities. Murat has the railway station, a university and a long pedestrian mall so it felt like many other European cities. Our clothes shopping objective was unsuccessful but our lunch consisting of an antipasto platter for two was a big hit.
Older guy with his E powered tricycle pulling a trailer looked very comfortable in the traffic. In Murat, the streets are straight and sometimes include bike designated paths. Here you can also see a broad pedestrian shopping street.
The Petruzzelli Theater is the main theatre in Bari, inaugurated in 1903 and named after the brothers Onofrio and Antonio Petruzzelli. It hosts opera, theater, musicals and concerts.
Vecchia was our afternoon and evening objective. It has a much more historical and local vibrancy. We visited this area yesterday but today we filled in some gaps with a walk along the elevated surrounding wall, discovering some piazzas wandered the main street of outdoor dining. Our dinner was at a casual spot that fit our desire for a lighter meal perfectly. Watching the square as we ate, Vecchia seemed quiet in the early evening. When our day was done we had walked 22K steps and had fully enjoyed our day in Bari.
A unique event in Vecchia is Strada delle Orecchiette-the art of pasta in the streets of Vecchia
