Bisceglie

Bisceglie sits on the Adriatic coast between Trani and Molfetta, thirty-five kilometers north of Bari, at sea level on a low limestone shelf with the Murge rising inland. The name probably derives from the Latin vigilae, watchtowers, recording the Roman coastal lookouts that preceded the medieval town. The walled centro storico sits between the cathedral and the port, its stone the same limestone as the dolmens scattered inland, which ties the old town physically to the countryside around it.

The harbour below still works, split between commercial fishing and pleasure boats, and the relics beneath the cathedral were moved into their purpose-built crypt under three altars in 1167, a century after the building was begun. Bisceglie also carries Spighe Verdi for its olive countryside and Città dell'Olio for the Coratina groves that surround it, alongside its recognition for the sea. What holds the town together is the limestone shelf itself: it carried the Roman watchtowers that gave Bisceglie its name, it was cut into dolmens by the Bronze Age communities who ringed the commune with tombs, and it still separates the working port from the olive groves inland, so that fishing, stone, and oil remain the three things the town has always stood on.

From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 26 minutes by car.

Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 3 hours away.

By car from the centre of Bari 38 minutes, Lecce 2h 25m or Salerno 3 hours.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Bari?

Coming by train into Bari Centrale? Bisceglie is about 40 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Bari / Brindisi airport.