Bari Hotels

Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia, region, on the Adriatic sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a decreasing population of 328,458 over 116 km², while the fast-growing urban area counts 653,028 inhabitants over 203 km². Another 500,000 people live in the metropolitan area. 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 splendid Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Castello Svevo of Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murattiano section, the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular gird-plan with a promenade on the sea, and the major shopping district Modern residential zones surround the center of Bari, the result of chaotic development 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 have developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has a redeveloped airport named after Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła Airport, with connections to several European cities.