Piazza Mercantile

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Piazza Mercantile

Piazza Mercantile - 6010 - 70122

Churches

Basilica of Saint Nicholas

Palace

Nicolaiano Museum Diocesan Museum The Simi Palace The Sagges Palace The Tanzi Palace

Monuments

The infamous column

Roads

Description

Beginning of construction first half of the XIVth century

Current use Square

"Whichever way you look at it, there are so many different angles which open to the wonder [...]. And piazza Mercantile can be compared to a model, with never a pose that has been already seen before without the secret of its beauty being revealed, without ever stopping winning our hearts as if it were the first time. " So the writer and journalist Lino Patruno describes the old urban space used by merchants since medieval times.
You can reach it from Piazza Ferrarese, from strada Francigena, from strada degli Orefici, from Via Re Manfredi and from Vico Corsioli. Connected to via Venezia by a ramp near the stone lion, to Imperatore Augusto seafront through an arch between the walls, to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas through the rua fragigena, the square maintains its original shape even if today its surroundings have been profoundly transformed.
Piazza Mercantile, Piazza Maggiore, Piazza Grande, or however you want to call it (various names have been used since April 1958 when it was decided to use the ancient name of piazza Mercantile). The piazza has always represented the heart of commercial and administrative activities in the city due to the presence of the city market (not currently in this area) and of the palazzo Sedile, which is the historical reference point of Bari city Hall. Today, for the citizens of Bari it is an irreplaceable meeting point.
Free from the tarmac which had polluted the piazza for many years, piazza Mercantile offers visitors some of the essential and characteristic signs which we can not fail to mention: the palazzo Sedile, with a sixteenth century clock tower as its backdrop; the Palazzo della Dogana, probably built in the sixteenth century by the Duchess Isabella Sforza of Aragon as shown by the stone emblem affixed on the building's facade; the stone lion, or "Colonna infame", which, with its apotropaic value "guards" the city limits and also lends itself to the entertainment of children; the fontana barocca, or "fontana della pigna" so called because of a bronze pine cone that would have been at the top (XVI-XVII century) of a stem at the center of a monolithic marble basin, with four faces to the upper edges; a bas-relief of a beautiful Madonna dating from the XV-XVI centuries.

History

Beginning of construction first half of the XIVth century

Since the medieval era a commercial area has been present in the southeastern part of the city close to piazza Mercantile, from which the "ruga Frangigena" began, the route pilgrims took which led them to the Basilica di Saint Nicholas.
In the heart of the square, in front of the palazzo Sedile a stretch of medieval pavement was found (made from limestone blocks) that, thanks to the discovery of coins belonging to the principality of Achaia, has been possible to date it to the first half of the fourteenth century.
The piazza, close to the port, to which it was connected by a fortified structure placed at the entrance of the pier (the tower S. Antonio), was home to the city government from at least the middle of the fifteenth century, becoming a popular urban meeting point. Subject to the urban renewal program implemented under the Sforzas, the piazza was subjected to an overall reorganization at the beginning of the seventeenth century, following a dramatic event that occurred in 1601: a fire swept through some houses that occupied a triangular area next to the palazzo Sedile and finished at the arsenal adjoining the palazzo Sedile, which resulted in a violent explosion. The palazzo Sedile was rebuilt quickly and was given a bell tower that housed a German made clock which even showed quarters of an hour. In 1612 a new carriageway door that connected the piazza to the harbor via the adjoining piazza Ferrarese was opened; the reorganization further contributed to consolidate it as the business centre for the citizens.
At the beginning of the 9th century the university's headquarters moved to the "Ruga Fragigena", which has since taken the name of strada Palazzo di Città, while the former palazzo Sedile was used as a theatre. Piazza Mercantile still retained the role of the meeting point, used for festivals, ceremonies and public entertainment, while health and hygiene requirements became increasingly important forcing the selling of food in to the nearby piazza Ferrarese that after the demolition of the walls and the door became the specialised marketplace.
Throughout the 19th century, with the building of the commercial port on the opposite side of the city, the piazza lost its historical role as the centre of life for the citizens of Bari, being slowly replaced by Corso Vittorio Emanuele (already Ferdinandeo), where the most important public buildings and meeting points could be found.

How do I get there?

How do I reach downtown?

Airport

From Viale Enzo Ferrari, continue in the direction of Strada Provinciale 204 / Viale Gabriele d'Annunzio / SP204.
Take Viale Europa, SS16, Via Napoli and Corso Vittorio Veneto in the direction of Piazza Mercantile in Bari.
Continue along Lungomare Augusto Imperatore. Piazza Ferrarese is on the right.
Walk towards Piazza Mercantile

Toll road

From the toll booth at Bari Sud of the Autostrada A14,
Take E843, Viale Giuseppe Tatarella, the underpass Sottopassaggio Giuseppe Filippo, Via Brigata Regina
Continue along Lungomare Augusto Imperatore in the direction of Piazza Mercantile in Bari.
Piazza Ferrarese is on the right.
Walk towards Piazza Mercantile

Public Transport

AMTAB bus lines #2, #4, #10, #12, #12/, #21, and #35 stop near Piazza Ferrarese (continue on foot to Piazza Mercantile)

Parking lots

Lungomare Imperatore Augusto-Corso Vittorio Emanuele