Bari

Capital of Bari province and Apulia region, southern Italy, and a major commercial and industrial centre and ferry port on the Adriatic Sea; population (2001 est) 312,500. It is the site of Italy's first nuclear power station. Part of the town is known as Tecnopolis, the Italian equivalent of Silicon Valley.

There are chemical, metallurgical, boat-building, textile, and foodstuff industries, and an oil refinery. The metallic element barium was discovered here. Bari has a naval college, and a university, founded in 1924. Notable buildings include the Romanesque Basilica of San Nicola (1197), which houses relics of St Nicholas of Bari and is a place of pilgrimage. There are also several medieval churches, and a 13th-century castle. The University of Bari was founded in 1924.

History Bari was at one time a Greek colony, and then became an important port under the Romans. It was subsequently in the hands of the Saracens from 812, the Byzantine Empire from 885, and the Normans under Robert Guiscard in the late 11th century. In the 14th century it was an independent duchy, and was annexed to the Kingdom of Naples in 1558. A new town of regular wide streets and gardens was laid out from 1840 onwards around the nucleus of the old town. The city was badly damaged by bombing in World War II.