Beautiful village Conversano

Conversano is an old and lively city at the foot of the high plateau Murgia. It lies in an altitude of 219m and dazzles with its impressing Castello. The historic old town offers many beautiful cafés and a large Piazza.

After takeover of the city by the Dukes of Conversano in the 11th century, the city was designated to a diocesan town. Many monasteries and noble families settled in Conversano and built magnificent Palazzi, which still show the past wealth of the city. In the 15th century, Conversano was taken over by the family of Aquaviva, which fortified the city with big town walls. Partially, they can still be visited at the Porta Tarantina. The trapezoidal Castello was built by the Normans and was converted to a castle by the Aquavivas. Today, it is private property but can be visited upon request.

Bari – the capital of Apulia

The capital Bari is the second largest city of Southern Italy, after Naples. It is considered as one of the most important harbour and university cities of the Adriatic Coast. It is a city of contrasts: the difference between its old town and the modern city centre is huge, as is the gap between poor and rich. The old town dazzles with its narrow streets and historical buildings and the modern city shows its wealth with wide avenues and modern office complexes.

The exhibition “Fiera di Levante”, which is annually organized since 1930, is the second largest trade fair in Italy after the fair in Milano. Once, the harbour of Bari was a gateway to the world and was an important trading harbour since the Romans. The trade with the Orient brought much wealth to the city. The transfer of the remains of the holy St. Nicholas from Myra to Bari lead to more wealth. It is still celebrated annually from May 7th to 9th, when the mortal remains arrived in Bari.