Italy Fermata 07: Bari
Everybody needs some Bari to love
You have been wandering through the old town of Bari since just before sunset. Once again, you are hungry. A lot of options this time. Fried fish, pizza, pasta - too many. People are out and about, walking, eating, sitting on the old town limestone walls, limestone steps and limestone streets. Finally you pick a place, that is spilling out of one of the houses (also limestone). You pick it mostly for the vibes, no men to be seen. People are enjoying themselves, the tables full of dishes and beers, surrounded by parents and kids. The food comes out from behind one of those door beads (they are everywhere), and through the generous gaps you can see, not the outlines of a kitchen but like a living room - with a couch and tv (with a doily on it). Then you realise - you sat down at some Bari’s family dinner.
When I was small, I would take all my toys out of their resting place and put them in the middle of my room, then take a day to build a city with all of them - action figures, toy cars, and lego blocks. I could stand up and see it all, or crouch down and zoom in on the daily life of a transformer. Bari has that kind of coziness. The old town is a picturesque blend of stone houses and winding pathways. It is the grown up version of a toy city, just the right size to both hold it completely in your head and get lost in its winding corners. People’s houses do spill over into the street. Families sell their homemade paste on large trays, or have dinner, chat, or drink - everyone going on about their life while tourists take pictures and walk by. People live here, they host here, they share here.
Everything, even the churches, is less angular, more round, more inviting. The old town doesn’t have chains - neither of restaurants nor of stores. It is free. That it is the shape of Bari. As the sun goes down strings of street lights, lamps bring that warm orange glow reflecting off the limestone - even to the shadows. It is enchantingly cozy. So whatever you do, don’t come to Bari alone. It is a waste of your time. Bring a lover. Bring a friend - they will become a lover by night’s end.
