Puglia · Barletta-Andria-Trani
Trani
The Adriatic port whose pink-white Romanesque cathedral stands on the water, built for a Greek pilgrim who died here in 1094.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Trani is on our list
It holds Cittaslow.
Subscribe and you get Trani's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 38 min from Bari
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 54,803
- J14°
- F15°
- M16°
- A19°
- M24°
- J29°
- J33°
- A32°
- S28°
- O24°
- N19°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in February at 12°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Trani sits on the Adriatic forty-five kilometers west-northwest of Bari, one of the three capitals of the Barletta-Andria-Trani province. The cathedral is the reason most travelers come. Dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim, a Greek who died in Trani in 1094, the church was begun in 1159 and built from the local calcareous tuff that quarries pink-white almost to the point of looking bleached.
The fifty-nine-meter bell tower was finished in the fourteenth century; the central bronze door is a 1175 work by Barisano da Trani. The Castello Svevo on the same harbor was built by Frederick II between 1233 and 1249 to guard the roadstead. Trani's eleventh- and twelfth-century maritime republic linked the Crusader Adriatic to the East and produced the Ordinamenta maris, one of the earliest western sea codes. The cathedral square at dusk, sea on one side and Castello Svevo on the other, is the photograph.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 35 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 2 h 46 min away.
By car from the center of Bari 38 min, Lecce 2 h 25 min or Salerno 2 h 45 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bari?
Coming by train into Bari Centrale? Trani is about 41 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bari airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cattedrale di San Nicola Pellegrino
Romanesque cathedral begun in 1159 on a sea-edge platform, built of local pink-white tuff, with a fifty-nine-meter bell tower and the 1175 bronze door by Barisano da Trani.
Castello Svevo
Frederick II fortress of 1233-1249 on a rock at the center of the harbor, designed by Filippo Cinardo, later a royal court seat and provincial prison until 1974.
Porto e lungomare
Working fishing harbor lined with palazzi and trattorie, with the cathedral at one end and the Castello Svevo at the other.
Sinagoga Scolanova
Thirteenth-century synagogue in the old Jewish quarter, returned to Jewish use in 2006 after centuries as a church, one of the oldest in active service in Europe.
Giudecca
Medieval Jewish quarter behind the harbor, a network of narrow lanes that produced four synagogues during the maritime republic and still carries their footprints.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
QuintessenzaRistorante
Quintessenza has one Michelin star, two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
Casa SgarraRistorante
One Michelin star for Casa Sgarra, and two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100).
Le Lampare al FortinoRistorante
Le Lampare al Fortino carries two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
4 more places the guides name in Trani
TerradimareRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (79/100) for Terradimare, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Il MelogranoRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Il Melograno.
LuceRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100), at Luce.
Osteria FrangipaneRistorante
Osteria Frangipane holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Trani is a city.
- A city of 54,803 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 54,803, down 2.4% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Bisceglie, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,250 to €1,650 per m² to buy, €3.60 to €6.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 98% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Bari airport (BRI), 35 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bari, 38 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
3% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Morocco and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 53 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United Kingdom. There are 204 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 23% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Barletta-Andria-Trani province ranks 86th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Bisceglie, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Bari, 41 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Barletta, 17 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 334 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 146 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.7% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €8,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Puglia spends about €1,500 a month, €440 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €545 a year for water, on the Puglia average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 4% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
CATTEDRALE SUL MARE
Apulian Romanesque cathedral built on the water for a Greek pilgrim saint, the signature image of the southern Adriatic.
ORDINAMENTA MARIS
Twelfth-century maritime code drafted in Trani, one of the earliest written sea laws in the western Mediterranean.
MOSCATO DI TRANI
DOC sweet white from late-harvest moscato bianco grown on the limestone coast, served chilled with almond pastries.
DOCG ZONES
The commune lies inside the Castel del Monte Bombino Nero, Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva and Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva DOCG production zones.
Common questions
- What is Trani known for?
- Trani is the Adriatic port whose pink-white Romanesque cathedral stands on the water, built for a Greek pilgrim who died here in 1094.
- Where is Trani?
- Trani is a comune in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in Puglia, at 7 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Trani?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bari (BRI), about 35 min by car.
- Can you get to Trani without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Bari to Trani?
- About 38 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Trani?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Trani?
- Porto San Giorgio, Bisceglie and Monopoli.
- How many people live in Trani?
- 54,803 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Trani a good place to live?
- Trani is a city of 54,803 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. The nearest national health service hospital is in Bisceglie, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 98% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 7 m
- Population: 54,803
- Surface area: 103.41 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Trani appears in
- The best coastal towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of BariNear Baricoastalby trainwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 17,353 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best coastal towns with a serious restaurant in PugliaPugliacoastalserious restaurant8 towns · smallest 4,276 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train that eat well within 90 minutes of BariNear Bariby trainwithin 90 mineats well9 towns · smallest 17,353 residents · closest 31 min away
- The best wine towns within two hours of BariNear Bariwithin 2 hourswine zone9 towns · smallest 2,045 residents · closest 38 min away
- The best towns on a walking route in PugliaPugliaon a walking route10 towns · smallest 5,566 residents
Similar
Towns like Trani
What all six share with Trani: on the Adriatic coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Trani is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Trani comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 337 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.