Puglia and a bit of Rome. Part 3. Trani, Giovinazzo
To be continued. Start here >>>
On the third day we decided to visit the cities north of Bari.
G. Morton wrote in his book:
"Nowhere else in Europe will you find so many Norman cathedrals standing next to each other. Ten miles from Bari is Giovinazzo Cathedral, built in 1283. Another 2 miles and you are already in the beautiful Molfetta. In the water the white cathedral with three domes and two bell towers is reflected 8 miles and Bisceglie greets you with a 12th century cathedral Do not be lazy, go another 5 miles you will see the Cathedral of Trani (1096) and will surely admire its magnificent bronze doors Like Molfetta ", it stands next to the sea. Those who drive another 10 miles will find themselves in the coastal city of Barletta. The local cathedral was built in 1139. But from here to Bari is some 35 miles. "
Indeed, visiting cities that are close to each other is very convenient,
we had one day left in Bari and we decided to leave early and start from the city of Trani. I must say right away that this city left us one of the best impressions of Puglia. The trip took 45 minutes, the ticket was 3 euros.
A bit of history: the settlement of Trani has existed since ancient times, under the Romans it was called Tirenum. Now 50 thousand people live in Trani.
Next to the station, a fountain with a statue of St. Francis:
Let's go towards the sea, the church dei Carmine is visible:
Church of San Domenico in Piazza Plebiscito (Piazza Plebiscito):
We reach the port:
Again I quote the words of G. Morton:
«The small port of Trani is semi-circular in shape. Where you expect to see a lighthouse, a beautiful and lonely cathedral rises.
The whole scene is reminiscent of a graceful model in the window of a travel agency. It's rare to see such a big empty space in a city these days. "
The Crusaders sailed from this port on the Crusades in the 12th century:
On the waterfront of the port there is a small church of All Saints (Chiesa di Ognissanti) of the 12th century:
Coming to the cathedral:
The Cathedral of Trani is by far one of the most outstanding cathedrals in Puglia, built in the 12th century. A distinctive feature of the Trani Cathedral is that it is located in an open square.
Indeed, the cathedral simply reigns over the port, its views are magnificent from all sides.
In Italy, you often can’t pick up the angle,
photographing cathedrals due to dense buildings, even such cathedrals as in Naples and Florence.
From the square, there is immediately an entrance to the crypt of the cathedral, a staircase leads up to the cathedral itself, both from the square and from the crypt. The Norman temple itself was built on the site of a Byzantine one, elements of which have been preserved in the crypt.
In the crypt of the relics of the city's patron Saint Nicolo Peligrino (Pilgrim), canonized after his death in 1094.
The interior of the cathedral is divided into three naves. Inside - the Romanesque style - everything is modest and strict.
Another attraction of Trani Cathedral are the beautiful bronze doors,
created in 1179. They consist of 32 panels, each of which contains bas-reliefs on religious and mythological themes. Actually, today's doors are a copy, and their original can be seen inside the cathedral.
200 meters from the Cathedral, you can see a medieval castle built in 1233-1249 during the reign of Emperor Frederick II.
A large pier deepens into the sea. . .
. . . on which there are a lot of local townspeople resting, at first I thought about how to go down to the sea on such stones, but the locals waved at me "Come on, let's help. " They showed us a place for descent and with great pleasure we swam in warm water for a long time.
Against this magnificent landscape:
After swimming, we met fishermen with a fresh catch on the pier, we didn’t buy fish, because we had nothing to fry it on, but we bought a couple of shrimp for 5 euros, because the pan is in our room was.
Then we went to the store and bought a mozzarella di Buffalo, and the seller cut off to try not a small piece, but a solid piece.
We went to have a bite to eat in a very cozy city park - Villa Communale, not far from the port.
This is a beautiful seaside park set on an elevated coastline. The park was created in 1823. The park is full of parrots, they fly like sparrows.
There are fish and turtles swimming in the fountain.
That was the end of our short stay in Trani. We really liked the city and you can live there for several days, combining rest and trips to nearby attractions.
On the way back to Bari, we decided to go out and see Giovinazzo, because it takes 20 minutes by train from it to Bari
The tour didn't last long, as the day was very hot, the churches were closed for siesta, and we had a bag of shrimp in our hands and thoughts of cold wine.
The city is very cozy and small, about 20 thousand inhabitants.
Walk to the center for about 15 minutes and the first thing I came across on this way was the pretty Cathedral of St. Augustine, built in neoclassical style.
From the station, first you go to the Old Town through SquareVictor Emmanuel II with the Triton Fountain and the Church of San Domenico.
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin (Cattegrale Santa maria Assunta) built in 1125-1180. The cathedral inside was rebuilt in the years 1730-1734 in the Baroque style. The facade of this cathedral, unlike the Cathedral of Trani, was very problematic to remove because of the surrounding buildings. We did not get inside because of the siesta, as in other churches.
Church of Our Lady of Constantinople (Santa Maria di Costantinopoli):
At the entrance, in a niche, Saint Christopher with the baby Jesus on his shoulders, who bears all the sins of the world:
The Aragonese castle (fortress) retained its appearance when it was modernized at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, first by the Aragonese, and then by the Spaniards.
The view of the seaport is also magnificent, as in many cities of Puglia.
It took us an hour and a half to inspect the city, it’s good to come here from Bari in the evenings, a very cozy town.
Finally, when we got to Bari, we bought "Mü ller-Thurgau" in a shop near the railway station.
We put it in the fridge while the shrimp were cooking, and made ourselves a delicious dinner. In the evening we went for a walk around Bari.
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