The Via del Comune, near this, leads to the N., past the Palazzo del Comune (of 1493, but much modernized), to the *Cathedral (San Ciriaco; closed 12 to 4.30), on Monte Guasco, a fine point of view. The church, in which Byzantine and Romanesque forms are mingled, dates from 1128–89; the fine porch is of the 13th century.
The Steamers round the N. pier, and beyond Monte dei Cappuccini (lighthouse) pass Monte Conero (1877 ft.; the ancient Promontorium Cunerum), crowned with a Camaldulensian monastery. This limestone mass does not form part of the Apennines, in front of which it lies, and geologically considered is perhaps, like Monte Gargano (see below), a relic of the great Dalmatian limestone tableland (p. [429]).
The coast recedes. In clear weather we sight in succession the summits of the Central Apennines, snow-clad till July: Monte Vettore (8130 ft.), the highest of the Monti Sibillini, the Gran Sasso d’Italia (9561 ft.) in the Abruzzi, and the Maiella, with Monte Amaro (9170 ft.).
After some time we pass the four low Trémiti Islands, the mythical Insulae Diomedeae, and then the rocky island of Pianosa (ancient Planasia), beyond which we sight Monte Gargáno (3464 ft.; Mons Garganus), once, as late as the tertiary age, an island separated from the mainland by a strait.
Off the lighthouse of Vieste, on the E. side of the peninsula, we steer away from the Bay of Manfredonia and due S.E. to—
Bari (Hôt. Cavour, Corso Vittorio Emanuele; Caffè del Risorgimento, at the hotel; Brit. vice-cons. and U. S. cons. agent; pop. 73,400), the ancient Barium, a provincial capital and the largest trading town in Apulia. As in the time of Horace, this is the part of the Adriatic where fish are most abundant.
From the Porto Nuovo, on the N.W. side of the old town, Monte Gargano, often cloud-capped, is visible even in rainy weather. The small Porto Vecchio, on the E. side, admits small craft only.
The sights of the old town are the Castle, once that of the Hohenstaufen, dating from Emp. Frederick II. (1223; now barracks and signalling station), the Cathedral, a Romanesque church of the 12th cent. modernized in 1745, and the church of San Nicóla, dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari. San Nicola and the small church of San Gregorio near it date from the end of the 11th century.—The old town and the new (Borgo) are separated by the broad Corso Vittorio Emanuele, which ends in pleasant promenades.
Beyond Bari we skirt the coast, where in the seaports of Mola di Bari, Polignano a Mare, and Monopoli, with their white houses, we see the first signs of the Orient. The Faro di Penna, the lighthouse on Capo Gallo, and the lighthouses in the islands of Sant’ Andrea (see below) and Le Petagne mark the approach to (475 M.) Brindisi (see below).
The Austrian Lloyd Steamers, on leaving Trieste (p. [425]), steer to the S.W. through the Bay of Trieste, avoiding the numerous bays of the N.W. coast of Istria; then, beyond the lighthouse of Salvore, the ancient Silvium Promontorium, they keep in sight of the hilly, olive-clad W. coast of Istria. We pass the small coast-towns of Umago, Cittanuova, and Parenzo (ancient Parentium), then the lighthouse on the Marmi Bank, the Canal di Leme, a kind of fiord, backed by Monte Maggiore (4580 ft.), and the harbour of Rovigno, sheltered by cliffs (scogli).