For those of you who do want the details, we paid our modest entry fee of something like 9 E for me and 4.5 E for Anara. An absolute STEAL for what it is. It’s not huge and the exhibits aren’t extensive, but it’s so well done! The little self-guided tour takes you from room to room of restored areas with nice explanatory signage along the way. The detailing in some of the works is pretty amazing with loads of mythical creatures depicting the Norman culture at the time they were made. Honestly, it was a nice change from the Grecian and Roman styles we’d seen so much of up until then. (Which explains the title of this chaper- ‘Xoanon’ refers to a simple wood carving especially Greek in origin. This art was decidedly NOT that.)

Surviving pieces of fresco:

From the collection of excavated pottery:

I can’t find the photo of the underground cemetery excavations, so here is one that I found on the internet.

While we really enjoyed the time we spent there, something else happened there that truly warmed my heart. There was a convention of some Italian Navy officers going on and several were milling about in a courtyard during a break. One approached the both of us and at first, I thought, “UH OH! Did we do something wrong?”

It was exactly the opposite. He was, in fact, a bit emotional as he began to personally thank us for coming to the Puglia Region of Italy. He told us that not very many tourists come to this area, and he was very thankful to see people traveling there to see their unique lifestyle and see how beautiful it is there. I wondered how much more he appreciated it being that it was only a year after Covid wiped out far too much of their economy for 2 long years.

We, of course, were very touched at this and fell in love with Puglia and Bari all over again.

By the time we were done with our castle visit, the Airbnb was ready, and we headed back through the Arco Alto, the primary gate into the Old Town area to take a little rest.

Before I put my feet up, I enjoyed watching this lady making her pasta right outside our door.

Here are a few photos of our lovely little one room Airbnb. It was quite comfortable, clean, well-equipped, and a bit on the funky side. The best part about it, of course, was the fantastic location.

Here is the listing if you ever find yourself in Bari, Italy:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/42706259?source_impression_id=p3_1685504682_A6IhSkShWJ6f9/Zo

She even provided a little Puglian snack!

Next up: The rest of our day and evening in Bari…