When I got off the train in Bari, my Airbnb host was there to pick me up outside. He then proceeded to give me a non-consensual tour of the area between the station and the flat so he could talk about his city and work on his English.
Don’t get me wrong, the dude was amazing. But it was not the hospitality I was expecting after our brief and slightly abrasive Airbnb exchange. This was reflected in the rest of Italy.
Outside of Rome, the country explodes with natural and man-made beauty. The southeast area around Bari and Polignano a Mare is beautiful. Fresh air and salt water pour into your senses.
Matera a few hours inland brings its own personality as the 2019 European Capital of Culture and possible cradle of humanity of Europe. Most of the city was under some sort of construction of renewal while I was there so it could prepare for the influx of tourism in 2019.
Naples gives you a sense of unrestrained expression doubled with a city built upon itself throughout the history of civilization.
And Osita is Galveston with a better McDonalds.
Only sliver of light is shown on Italy through these photos. I can only hope that one photo enters your consciousness and infects it with how lovely this country is.
