Italy_Trip 2024

Bari ( BAR-ee, Italian: [ˈbaːri] ; Barese: Bare [ˈbæːrə]; Latin: Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples. It is a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of 315,284 inhabitants, over 116 square kilometres (45 sq mi), while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants. Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Norman-Swabian Castle, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district (the via Sparano and via Argiro). Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls. In addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has a redeveloped airport, Karol Wojtyła Airport, with connections to several European cities.

When the Emperor Frederick II built this castle near Bari in the 13th century, he imbued it with symbolic significance, as reflected in the location, the mathematical and astronomical precision of the layout and the perfectly regular shape. A unique piece of medieval military architecture, Castel del Monte is a successful blend of elements from classical antiquity, the Islamic Orient and north European Cistercian Gothic. © UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Polignano a Mare (Italian: [poliɲˈɲaːno a mˈmaːre]; Barese: Peghegnéne [pəɡəɲˈɲeːnə]) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, located on the Adriatic Sea. The local economy mostly depends on tourism, agriculture and fishing.

Ostuni (Barese: Ostune; Salentino: Stune) is a city and comune, located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32,000 during the winter, but can swell to 200,000 inhabitants during summer, being among the main towns attracting tourists in Apulia. It also has a consistent British and German immigrant community and an industrial zone. The region is a producer of high quality olive oil and wine.

Lecce ( Italian: [ˈlettʃe] ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce, with the second-highest population in the Apulia region. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is nicknamed "The Florence of the South". "Lecce stone"—a particular kind of limestone—is one of the city's main exports, because it is very soft and workable, and thus suitable for sculptures. Lecce is also an important agricultural centre, chiefly for its olive oil and wine production, as well as an industrial centre specializing in ceramics. Lecce is home to the University of Salento.

Otranto (UK: , US: , Italian: [ˈɔːtranto]; Salentino: Oṭṛàntu; Griko: Δερεντό, romanized: Derentò; Ancient Greek: Ὑδροῦς, romanized: Hudroûs; Latin: Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and comune in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association.It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. The harbour is small and has little trade. The lighthouse Faro della Palascìa, at approximately 5 kilometres (3 miles) southeast of Otranto, marks the most easterly point of the Italian mainland. About 50 kilometres (31 mi) south lies the promontory of Santa Maria di Leuca (so called since ancient times from its white cliffs, leukos being Greek for white), the southeastern extremity of Italy, the ancient Promontorium Iapygium or Sallentinum. The district between this promontory and Otranto is thickly populated and very fertile. The area that lies between Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca is part of the Regional Natural Coastal Park of "Costa Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca e Bosco di Tricase" wanted by the Apulia Region in 2008. This territory has numerous natural and historical attractions such as Ciolo, which is a rocky cove.

The Gallipoli peninsula (; Turkish: Gelibolu Yarımadası; Greek: Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, romanized: Chersónisos tis Kallípolis) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name Καλλίπολις (Kallípolis), meaning 'beautiful city', the original name of the modern town of Gelibolu. In antiquity, the peninsula was known as the Thracian Chersonese (Ancient Greek: Θρακικὴ Χερσόνησος, romanized: Thrakiké Chersónesos; Latin: Chersonesus Thracica). The peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the Aegean Sea, between the Dardanelles (formerly known as the Hellespont), and the Gulf of Saros (formerly the bay of Melas). In antiquity, it was protected by the Long Wall, a defensive structure built across the narrowest part of the peninsula near the ancient city of Agora. The isthmus traversed by the wall was only 36 stadia in breadth or about 6.5 km (4.0 mi), but the length of the peninsula from this wall to its southern extremity, Cape Mastusia, was 420 stadia or about 77.5 km (48.2 mi).

Taranto ( tə-RAN-toh, US also -⁠RAHN-, TAR-ən-toh, Italian: [ˈtaːranto] ; Tarantino: Tarde) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base.Founded by Spartans in the 8th century BC during the period of Greek colonisation, Taranto was among the most important poleis in Magna Graecia, becoming a cultural, economic and military power that gave birth to philosophers, strategists, writers and athletes such as Archytas, Aristoxenus, Livius Andronicus, Heracleides, Iccus, Cleinias, Leonidas, Lysis and Sosibius. By 500 BC, the city was among the largest in the world, with a population estimated up to 300,000 people. The seven-year rule of Archytas marked the apex of its development and recognition of its hegemony over other Greek colonies of southern Italy. During the Norman period, it became the capital of the Principality of Taranto, which covered almost all of the heel of Apulia. Taranto is now the third-largest continental city in southern Italy (south of Rome, roughly the southern half of the Italian peninsula), with well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, naval shipyards and food-processing factories. Taranto will host the 2026 Mediterranean Games.

B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is bee (pronounced ), plural bees. It represents the voiced bilabial stop in many languages, including English. In some other languages, it is used to represent other bilabial consonants.

Alberobello (Italian: [ˌalberoˈbɛllo]; literally "beautiful tree"; Barese: Ajarubbédde) is a small town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has 10,237 inhabitants (2022) and is famous for its unique trullo buildings. The trulli of Alberobello have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Alberobello is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association.

The trulli , limestone dwellings found in the southern region of Puglia, are remarkable examples of drywall (mortarless) construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. The trulli are made of roughly worked limestone boulders collected from neighbouring fields. Characteristically, they feature pyramidal, domed or conical roofs built up of corbelled limestone slabs. © UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Locorotondo (Barese: U Curdunne) is a town and municipality of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, with a population of about 14,000. It is situated between Martina Franca and Alberobello in the Valle d'Itria, a green stretch of countryside dotted with the famous whitewashed cone-roofed trulli houses. Locorotondo is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association and it has been awarded the Orange Flag of the Touring Club of Italy due to the harmony of its shapes and the accessibility of the old town, as it can be easily visited on foot. It is an intricate network of little streets lined with old buildings and it is known for its typical houses called "Le Cummerse", which have a regular geometric shape and a sloping roof made of two different layers of limestone slabs. These dwellings have nowadays been renovated and offered to visitors in the form of scattered hotels.

This is the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem. The first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic, while later settlements illustrate a number of significant stages in human history. Matera is in the southern region of Basilicata. © UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Bari ( BAR-ee, Italian: [ˈbaːri] ; Barese: Bare [ˈbæːrə]; Latin: Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples. It is a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of 315,284 inhabitants, over 116 square kilometres (45 sq mi), while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants. Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Norman-Swabian Castle, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district (the via Sparano and via Argiro). Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls. In addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has a redeveloped airport, Karol Wojtyła Airport, with connections to several European cities.

Altamura (, Italian: [ˌaltaˈmuːra]; Barese: Ialtamùre) is a town and comune of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, 45 kilometres (28 miles) southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basilicata. As of 2017, its population amounts to 70,595 inhabitants.The city is known for its particular quality of bread called Pane di Altamura, which is sold in numerous other Italian cities. The 130,000-year-old calcified Altamura Man was discovered in 1993 in the nearby limestone cave called grotta di Lamalunga.