Wednesday October 13 was going to be a beautiful day in Roma. We were going to Trani, our first stop in Puglia. We had a bit of an adventure. Our host, Rosa, checked us out at about 10:15 a.m. and we took the bus to the main train station (Roma Termini). We went early at her suggestion. It turned out that for some unknown reason, our travel agent had given us train tickets from a train station in the north eastern part of the city. Luckily, we asked at information when we didn't see our specific 12:11 p.m. train departure. They told us our tickets were from a different station. We jumped in a cab, and luckily were still in plenty of time to catch the train, which of course had it's first stop at Roma Termini on the way out of town!!
The train was very nice and not at all full. We had to stop a number of times as there was "train work" ahead. Luckily, the alleged 65 minute delay was cut to 25 minutes by the time we arrived at Trani at around 5:05 p.m.
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| Vineyards en route |
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| Fast train to Trani |
We are SO glad we made the decision to spend two nights in Trani. It is an amazing city of sun, sea and white houses. Trani is located on the Adriatic Sea and is about 40 km north of Bari. The population is around 58,000. It has a storied history as a strategic seaport and the city flourished in the 11th and 12th centuries. It had one of the largest Jewish communities in southern Italy during the 12th century. Trani is most famous for its Cathedral of San Nicola built in the 11th and 12th century.
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| Train station on our arrival |
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| Walking to our B&B |
This is the only town we are staying at a B&B, rather than an Airbnb. We thought that this made more sense as we are only staying two nights. Torrente Antico is a lovely B&B located right in the centre of town. It is an eight minute walk from the train station and a five minute walk from the harbour. It is located on the 2nd floor of an old building on a quiet street. There are only three guest rooms, but it is a lovely spot.
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| Washroom |
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| Bedroom |
We headed out for dinner at around 7:30 p.m. The town is incredible-- very beautiful and the stores and restaurants are very modern.
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| Walking to the harbour |
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| Beautiful churches along the way |
We had one of the best dinners we have had on the trip so far (and we've had lots of good meals). They say come to Puglia (Apulia in Italian) for the food and so far, so good. Our B&B host and a blog I had been following both recommended Osteria La Perla del sud, located on the waterfront, for great seafood. We were a bit early for dinner at 7:30 p.m. but we were tired and hungry after the trip.
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| Looking inside the resto |
We sat outside in a covered patio with heaters, with a view of the harbour. There is always a bread basket in Italy (one pays a slight charge), but in Puglia it was pieces of foccacia, another Pugliese specialty.
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| We started with fried anchovies in a lovely light batter |
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| The Orecchiette allo Scoglio (with seafood) was fabulous- shrimp, mussels, squid and crab- this was a half portion! |
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| The Orata-- a whole sea bream |
We shared all three dishes. We didn't order dessert but the waiter brought us each a glass of the famous Moscato di Trani. The moscato is one of the earliest declared DOC wines (Designation of Controlled Origin) in Italy. He also brought us a plate of almond cookies.
Our included breakfast of orange juice, coffee or tea and cornetti was provided by the Cafeteria La Nuova Bomboniera located just across the street. We just showed up when we wanted and we were served breakfast outside on the patio.
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| Our breakfast spot |
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| Entrance to our B&B building |
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| Alonso with his cappuccino and cornetti |
Just around the corner is a lovely square with a statue-
Il cuore di Trani alla Immacolata Madre di Dio (The heart of Trani-the Immaculate Mother of God).
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| In Piazza Libertà |
There a number of plaques in Trani with historical details about buildings, written in both Italian and English.
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| The Agnete House 1283, one of the oldest residences |
We walked over to La Giudecca, the Jewish quarter, about a five minute walk from our B&B. The quarter, which was not a ghetto, was well located near the harbour and the main streets of Trani. Jews arrived in Trani in the first half of the 11th century and there were about 200 Jewish families by around 1165. The Jewish community continued to thrive under the protection of Emperor Henry VI of Swabia and four synagogues were built, the last of which was completed in 1247. Jews continued to live peacefully until 1510 when under the orders of Ferdinand II, they were expelled from Trani and the synagogues were transformed into churches. Only two of the four have survived. In 2004, one of the former synagogues was returned to the Jewish community and it was again transformed into a Jewish temple. It is the Scolanova Synagogue built in the 13th century.
The Great Synagogue, built in 1247 which became a Catholic Church was restored in 2009 and has become a museum of Jewish history, the only one in southern Italy. It is now known as the Sinagoga Museo di Sant'Anna. We visited both sites.
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| Entrance to Museo Sant'Anna |
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| Other side |
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| Inside the Museo- displays of artefacts and history of the synagogue |
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| History poster |
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| Hebrew inscription on the wall |
Alonso' s brother-in-law in New York checked the translation. It notes that "In the year 5007 (Jewish calendar) (1246- Christian calendar) after the creation, This sanctuary was built by a minyan of friends, with a lofty splendid dome and a window Open to the sky and new portals for enclosing it, And a pavement on the upper floor, and benches, For seating the leaders of the prayer, so that their piety Would be watched over by the One who dwells in the glorious heaven."
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| Parchment fragments of a Hebrew Bible of the 16th century. |
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| Jewish communities in Puglia and Basilicata in the X11-XIV centuries |
There was also a crypt containing gravestones from Jewish cemetaries.
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| Crypt-- beautiful decoration on the walls |
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| The Hebrew inscriptions were translated into Italian on the posters-some from 1290-91 and others from 1491. These were the gravestones of important Jewish families from Trani. |
We passed the Morola Palace from the 12th century which was the birth place of an important Trani Judge, Gabriele Morola (1716-1786), a member of an aristocratic Trani family.
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| Story of the Morola Palace |
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| The house where the Judge was born |
We walked by the Golden Door or Ancient Door from the 9th century. This door provided access to La Giudecca quarter.
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| Where the Golden Door was located |
We walked to the nearby Synagogue Scolanova which had formerly been a number of Churches. Unfortunately, one needed a reservation to enter and no one was around to talk to.
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| Synagogue |
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| Detail with Star of David and Church Bell |
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| Window |
We then walked to the amazing Cathedral of St Nicholas located right on the waterfront. First we stopped to take a photo of the Castle of Trani built by Frederick II of Swabia in 1233 to protect his kingdom. A very imposing Castle modelled on the Crusader Castles in a rectangular formation
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| The Trani Castle |
We approached the Cathedral of St. Nicola which was built in honour of San Nicola Pellegrino, a Greek youth who died in Trani in 1094 during a pilgrimage. It was consecrated in 1143, although the bell tower was not finished until the 14th century. It is one of the main examples of Apulia Romanesque architecture. It was built using the local stone of Trani- light pink, almost white.
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| A view of the back of the Cathedral |
The Cathedral is in a very isolated position, a few metres from the coast. A beautiful setting with the crashing waves of the Adriatic Sea behind it.
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| The Cathedral with the Adriatic Sea backdrop |
We walked back along the harbour. A number of the fishermen had fresh fish for sale.
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| The harbour with many fishing boats |
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| Fresh fish for sale |
We then visited two museums housed in one building.
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| Two museums are housed in the Palazzo Lodispoto (XVIII sec) |
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| Sign for the Typewriter Museum |
The Museo Della Macchina per Scrivere had over 400 typewriters of various makes (mostly German, American and Italian) spanning a 150 year period. It was an incredible collection, well documented in both Italian and English. Just fascinating. The photos are not in a particular order as we wandered from room to room.
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| 1936 Invicta Model 60 Italy |
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| Displays of typewriters with pictures of famous people at their typewriters |
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| Titania-German 1913- Model 3, named for the fairy Queen Titania from "A Midsummer's Night Dream" by Shakespeare. Production ceased in 1930. |
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| 1892-- Canadian Empire, Model 1 |
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| 1908 Remington |
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| 1900 German Adler- Model 7, designed by Wellington Parker Kidder |
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| A similar typewriter used by Ian Fleming- 1948 USA Royal Quiet de Luxe |
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| 1873 Sholes and Glidden- the first commercial typewriter |
1941 German Olympia Robust- used by the Nazis during the War- reinforced body and a special character used to sign printed material of various kinds.
1935 Hermes Swiss "Baby"-the typewriter used by Ernest Hemingway and other writers and journalists
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| The basement was dedicated to Olivetti typewriters and typewriter toys |
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| Olivetti typewriters |
The second floor of the building contained the Diocesan Museum, consisting of many sculptures and stone work from excavations and other work in the Cathedral and other Churches of Trani. There are also some wonderful ceramics in this museum.
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| Tombstone (14th century) from the Cathedral of Trani |
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| Bust Archbp. Guiseppe Davanzati (1717-1735)- removed from the Cathedral during some demolition work |
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| Transport amphora Corinthian- Corcyrian A (4th-3rd c. B.C.) - used to transport wine or oil |
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| Banded pottery 4th century B.C. |
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| Apulia Bell Krater- maiden between two athletes - 4th c. B.C. |
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| More sculptures-many from the Cathedral |
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| St. Nicholas the Pilgrim - from one of the city gates of Trani- XIII century |
We stopped for a moment at Palazzo Valenzano, built in 1762 on the behest of a wealthy merchant.
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| The Palazzo |
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| The Palazzo's history |
We walked back along the harbour. It really is so picturesque, especially in the sun.
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| Lots of fishing boats |
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| Great colours |
We then wandered and stopped for a small panini and a coffee at Charlotte on one of the main streets.
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| Inside of Charlotte |
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| Palazzo De Angelis (sec. XVIII) |
We had a brief rest at the B&B before heading out again at around 5:00 p.m. Most stores are closed between 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. (with some variation). They then reopen until around 8:00 p.m.
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| Out lovely terrace |
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| View from the terrace of our B&B- Cathedral and Adriatic Sea |
After another short rest, we headed out to dinner at Mari, another restaurant recommended by our host for local typical Pugliese food. The restaurant is mainly known for its antipasti and grilled meats. There are no pasta dishes or fish on the menu! There was only one other couple in the restaurant tonight while we were there (definitely off-season in Trani). The waiter went through the entire menu with us in Italian-- but very easy to understand. We decided to forego the horse meat items!
He suggested we have four antipasti, which was more than enough. We had the cipone al forno, polpette al Marsala, faveita e cicoria and crude alla Tranese. We avoided dishes with cheese.
We also had cotoletta della nonna (Grandmother's cutlet) and salsiccia Zampina (sausage). We had sparkling water, a bread basket and a carafe of red wine
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| All the appetizers-- plenty for two people |
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| My first serving of the many appetisers |
The meat was served in wax paper sleeves with some roasted potatoes.
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| The meat and potatoes |
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| Sausage, Grandmother's cutlet and potatoes |
We were too full for dessert, but our waiter brought us a small bottle of their home-made cherry digestif. Yum!
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Pouring the digestif
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Such a wonderful dinner. Also very reasonable-- with a small tip (in Italy one does not leave large tips) - 45 euros. Incroyable! For all our friends who want to travel to Italy--- put Puglia on your itinerary and do NOT miss Trani. It is a most beautiful town on the Adriatic with a fascinating history, a spectacular Cathedral and a picturesque harbour. On Friday October 15, we take the train to nearby Monopoli, also on the coast.
Train looks and sounds like a great place to visit. It is now on the list. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference between the two museums - have you ever seen the film California Typewriters. If you haven't, it's available on Crave on your return. Definitely worth watching. And as for the restaurants and food - wow, it all looks fantastic. They don't skimp on quantity either. A great trip all around.
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