Bari
[key], city, capital of Bari prov. and of Apulia, S Italy, on the Adriatic
Sea. It is a major seaport and an industrial and commercial center. It is
connected by road, rail, and ship to other Adriatic ports and is now
connected by road to Naples. Manufactures include chemicals, machinery,
textiles, printed materials, and petroleum. Probably of Illyrian origin,
Bari became a Greek and then a Roman colony. It later was controlled by the
Goths, the Lombards, and the Byzantines. The Normans conquered Bari in 1071.
The city became the chief city of Apulia, and many Crusaders sailed from
there. Enfeoffed to the kingdom of Naples, Bari, during the Middle Ages, was
a duchy ruled by powerful lords, including the Hohenstaufens and the Sforzas
of Milan. It was badly damaged in World War II. Noteworthy buildings include
the Romanesque basilica (1087–1197), a major place of pilgrimage,
with relics of St. Nicholas of Bari (see Nicholas, Saint); the Romanesque
cathedral (12th cent.); and the Hohenstaufen castle (1233). The city has a
university founded in 1924.
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