Bari is a spirited port city on the Adriatic coast, constantly enlivened by its university population. Bari Vecchia—a proper olde worlde maze of timeworn streets—sits right next to the neat, grand grid of the 19th-century Murat district. This contrast gives you a city with a raw, working-port soul and a deep sense of its history.

For anyone considering living in Bari, it’s a chance to get under the skin of a corner of Italy that hasn’t been completely polished for tourists. Life in Bari is a lively, unfiltered slice of Southern Italy. The city hums with the energy of a working port and a university town. It’s a city lived outdoors, from the morning chaos of the fish market to the sacred evening passeggiata (stroll) along the seafront.