Trani is a comune in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in Apulia, at 7 meters above sea level.

When is the best time to visit Trani?

Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 11 rain days.

Is there a sagra or a festival in Trani?

Yes. Festa di San Nicola Pellegrino and Il Matrimonio di Re Manfredi. August is when the first of them falls.

Which other towns are like Trani?

Porto San Giorgio, Bisceglie and Monopoli.

Apulia · 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.

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.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

J13°
F15°
M15°
A18°
M24°
J28°
J32°
A32°
S27°
O23°
N18°
D15°

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in February at 12°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Nicola Pellegrino, first Saturday

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.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Trani’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

How to get there

From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 35 minutes by car.

Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 2h 46m away.

By car from the centre of Bari 38 minutes, Lecce 2h 25m or Salerno 2h 45m.

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 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Bari / Brindisi airport.

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.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Trani fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Festa di San Nicola Pellegrinopatron saint's feast
usually held in August. La Terra di Puglia - Eventi in Puglia (guida mensile)
Il Matrimonio di Re Manfredihistorical re-enactment
usually held in August. La Terra di Puglia - Eventi in Puglia (guida mensile)

Living here

Population 54,941
A local hubi
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 35 min drive
Regional capital Bari, 38 min drive

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 Apulia, at 7 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Trani?: Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 35 minutes 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 minutes by car.
When is the best time to visit Trani?: Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Trani?: Yes. Festa di San Nicola Pellegrino and Il Matrimonio di Re Manfredi. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Trani?: Porto San Giorgio, Bisceglie and Monopoli.
How many people live in Trani?: 54,941 at the 2023 count.

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 7 m
Population: 54,941
Surface area: 103.41 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Bari

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.

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