Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Darsena
( 0883 48 73 33; Via Statuti Marittimi 98; meals €30; Tue-Sun)
Renowned for its seafood,
swish La Darsena is housed in a waterfront
palazzo
. Outside tables overlook the port
while inside photos of old Puglia cover the walls beneath a huge wrought-iron dragon
chandelier.
SEAFOOD
$$
Information
From the train station, Via Cavour leads through Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza Plebis-
cito and the public gardens. Turn left for the harbour and cathedral.
Tourist Office
( 0883 58 88 30;
www.traniweb.it
;
1st fl, Palazzo Palmieri, Piazza Trieste 10;
8.30am-1.30pm Mon, Wed & Fri, 8:30am-1:30pm & 3.30-5.30pm Tue & Thu)
Located 200m south of
the cathedral.
Getting There & Away
STP
( 0883 49 18 00;
www.stpspa.it
)
has frequent bus services to Bari (€3.90, 45 minutes).
Services depart from
Bar Stazione
(Piazza XX Settembre 23)
, which also has timetables and
tickets.
Trani is on the main train line between Bari (€4.40, 40 to 60 minutes, frequent) and
Foggia (€9.50, one hour, frequent).
Castel del Monte
You'll see
Castel del Monte
( 0883 56 99 97;
www.casteldelmonte.beniculturali.it
;
adult/reduced €5/
2.50; 9am-6pm Oct-Feb, 10.15am-7.45pm Mar-Sep)
, an unearthly geometric shape on a hill-
top, from miles away. Mysterious and perfectly octagonal, it's one of southern Italy's most
talked-about landmarks and a Unesco World Heritage Site.
No one knows why Frederick II built it - there's no nearby town or strategic crossroads.
It was not built to defend anything, as it has no moat or drawbridge, no arrow slits and no
trapdoors for pouring boiling oil on invaders.
Some theories claim that, according to mid-13th-century beliefs in geometric symbol-
ism, the octagon represented the union of the circle and square, of God-perfection (the in-
finite) and human-perfection (the finite). The castle was therefore nothing less than a cel-
ebration of the relationship between humanity and God.
