Round the Adriatic Sea 2026: Bari – Acquaviva Collecroce

My plan was, upon arrival in Bari, with another 40 kilometres or so to cycle north. But in Bari it was pouring with rain and there was a thunderstorm, and it didn’t look as though it would let up any time soon. As I could still find cheap accommodation in a hostel here, I decided to stay.

 

First, I went to the Pinacoteca where, alongside the permanent historical collection, the retrospective exhibition ‘Errare è umano’ ran from Biagio Caldarelli (1951–1999), a ‘forgotten’ artist from Bari. Mainly works in pastel on paper: delicate pastel strokes that left line drawings exposed.

 

On the way to the BChurch of St Nicholas, where the remains of ‘Sinterklaas’ are kept, I visited a World Press Photo exhibition. Those photos don’t exactly lift your spirits. There really is so much (unnecessary) suffering and misery in this world. And scoundrels — be they states, greedy industrialists or criminals — who knowingly cause this. At the entrance to the exhibition were information panels with hopeful messages, emphasising, amongst other things, human perseverance and resilience, but so much injustice, much of which is allowed to go unchecked, offers little cause for hope.

 

A Mass was just taking place in St Nicholas’ Basilica. I stood there listening for quite a while; it was a beautiful service. In the crypt there is.