Editing Bari (section)

== History ==
{{For timeline}}

=== Ancient ===
Bari itself known in antiquity as ''Barium'', was a harbour of the [[Iapygians|Iapygian]] [[Peuceti]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |year=2012 |editor-first1=Simon |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-first2=Antony |editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-first3=Esther |editor-last3=Eidinow |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |edition=4th |location=Oxford |oclc=959667246 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ |page=224}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis|last=Andriani|first=Luigi|year=2017|title=The syntax of the dialect of Bari|publisher=Homerton College - University of Cambridge|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/131382669.pdf}}</ref> The authors of the [[Etymologicum Magnum]] have preserved an etymology by authors of antiquity about ''Barium'', which they explain as the word "house" in [[Messapic language|Messapic]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Matzinger |first1=Joachim |title=Messapisch |date=2019 |publisher=Reichert Verlag |isbn=9783954907205 |page=8}}</ref> The city had strong Greek influences before the Roman era.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bari-Italy|title = Bari &#124; Italy| date=15 October 2023 }}</ref> In [[ancient Greek]], it was known as ''Βάριον''. In the 3rd century BC, it became part of the [[Roman Republic]] and was subsequently Romanized. The city developed strategic significance as the point of junction between the coast road and the [[Via Traiana]] and as a port for eastward trade; a branch road to [[Taranto|Tarentum]] led from Barium. Its harbour, mentioned as early as 181 BC, was probably the principal one of the districts in ancient times, as it is at present, and was the centre of a fishery.<ref name="EB1911" /> The first historical bishop of [[Bishopric of Bari|Bari]] was [[Gervasius and Protasius|Gervasius]] who was noted at the [[Council of Sardica]] in 347.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SERDICA - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/serdica_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/serdica_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
With the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] in 476, it was invaded by [[Barbarian|Barbarians]] and occupied by the [[Ostrogoths]]. It was taken from them by the [[Byzantine Empire]] during the [[Gothic wars]] and disputed for the following two centuries with the [[Lombards]] of the [[Duchy of Benevento]], who made it a steward.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bari tra oriente e occidente, dal medioevo ad oggi |url=https://www.basilicasannicola.it/page.php?id_art=266&id_cat=196&id_sottocat1=292&id_sottocat2=0&id_sottocat3=0&titolo=Bari%20tra%20oriente%20e%20occidente,%20dal%20medioevo%20ad%20oggi |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Basilica Pontificia San Nicola |language=it}}</ref>

Throughout this period, and indeed throughout the Middle Ages, Bari served as one of the major [[slavery|slave]] depots of the Mediterranean, providing a central location for the trade in [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] slaves.<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin_italiamedievale |date=2008-02-09 |title=I secoli degli schiavi slavi |url=https://www.italiamedievale.org/i-secoli-degli-schiavi-slavi/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=Italia Medievale |language=it-IT}}</ref> The slaves were mostly captured by [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] from [[Dalmatia]], by the [[Holy Roman Empire]] from what is now [[Eastern germany|Eastern Germany]] and [[Poland]], and by the Byzantines from elsewhere in the Balkans, and were generally destined for other parts of the Byzantine Empire and (most frequently) the Muslim states surrounding the Mediterranean: the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] [[Caliphate of Córdoba]], the [[Emirate of Sicily]], and the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] (which relied on Slavs purchased at the Bari market for its legions of Sakalaba [[Mamluk]]s).<ref>{{Cite book | title = The Cartoon History of the Universe III – From the Rise of Arabia to the Renaissance (Volumes 14–19)| publisher = Doubleday| year = 2002| isbn = 0-393-32403-6}}</ref>

For 20 years, Bari was the centre of the [[Emirate of Bari]]; the city was captured by its first emirs [[Kalfun]] in 847, who had been part of the mercenary garrison installed there by [[Radelchis I of Benevento]].<ref name=Wickham62>{{cite book |author=Chris Wickham |title=Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400–1000 |location=Totowa |publisher=Barnes and Noble |year=1981 |pages=62, 154 |isbn=978-0-389-20217-2}}</ref> The city was conquered and the emirate extinguished in 871 following [[Louis II's campaign against Bari (866–871)|five-year campaign]] by [[Emperor Louis II|Frankish Emperor Louis II]], assisted by a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] fleet.<ref>{{Setton-A History of the Crusades | volume = 1 | chapter = The Italian Cities and the Arabs before 1095 |first=Hilmar C. |last=Krueger |page=48}}</ref> Chris Wickham states Louis spent five years campaigning to reduce then occupy Bari, "and then only to a Byzantine/Slav naval blockade"; "Louis took the credit" for the success, adding "at least in Frankish eyes", then concludes by noting that by remaining in southern Italy long after this success, he "achieved the near-impossible: an alliance against him of the Beneventans, Salernitans, Neapolitans and Spoletans; later sources include [[Sawdan|Sawadān]] as well."<ref name=Wickham62/> In 885, Bari became the residence of the local Byzantine ''[[catapan]]'', or governor. The failed revolt (1009–1011) of the Lombard nobles [[Melus of Bari]] and his [[brother-in-law]] Dattus, against the Byzantine governorate, though it was firmly repressed at the [[Battle of Cannae (1018)]], offered their [[Normans|Norman]] adventurer allies a first foothold in the region.{{cn|date=June 2023}} In 1025, under the [[Byzantius (archbishop of Bari)|Archbishop Byzantius]], Bari became attached to the [[Holy See|see of Rome]] and was granted "[[province|provincial]]" status.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BISANZIO - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bisanzio_res-355bc01a-87e8-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Dizionario-Biografico)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bisanzio_res-355bc01a-87e8-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

In 1071, Bari was captured by [[Robert Guiscard]], following a [[Siege of Bari|three-year siege]], ending what remained of the Byzantine power in the region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robèrto I il Guiscardo duca di Puglia, detto l'Astuto - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/roberto-i-il-guiscardo-duca-di-puglia-detto-l-astuto/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/roberto-i-il-guiscardo-duca-di-puglia-detto-l-astuto/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

In 1095, [[Peter the Hermit]] [[Preaching|preach]]ed the [[First Crusade]] there.<ref name="EB1911" /> In October 1098, [[Urban II]], who had consecrated the Basilica in 1089, convened the [[Council of Bari]], one of a series of [[synod]]s convoked with the intention of reconciling the [[Eastern Church|Eastern]] and [[Western Church]] on the question of the [[filioque]] clause in the Creed, which [[Anselm of Canterbury|Anselm]] ably defended, seated at the [[pope]]'s side.<ref>{{Cite web |title=URBANO II, papa - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/papa-urbano-ii_(Dizionario-Biografico)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/papa-urbano-ii_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

=== Early modern period ===
[[File:XIX century print, Il porto di Bari.jpg|thumb|19th century image of the port of Bari.]]{{Main articles|Duchy of Bari}}
A long period of decline characterized the city under the dominations of [[Aldoino Filangieri di Candida]], and those of the [[Kings of Naples]], which held the control of the entire mainland Southern Italy from 1282 to 1806. This decline was interrupted, however, by the splendor under the [[Sforzas]], who ruled the city as [[Duchy of Bari|Dukes of Bari]], a title given by the Neapolitan crown, in particular under the rule of the dukes [[Ludovico Sforza|Ludovico]] and [[Beatrice d'Este]], then of the duchesses [[Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan|Isabella of Aragon]] and [[Bona Sforza]]. Bari also underwent Venetian domination, which led to the expansion of the port and a very prosperous period, also favored by the trade of inland products, which were in great demand on foreign markets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parte 2 -1440/1480 |url=http://rilievo.stereofot.it/studenti/aa00/trentadue/relazione/1440-1480.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=rilievo.stereofot.it}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-08 |title=Isabella d'Aragona e Bona Sforza: donne che hanno rivoluzionato la città di Bari. |url=https://www.pugliaculturaeterritorio.it/isabella-daragona-e-bona-sforza-donne-che-hanno-rivoluzionato-la-citta-di-bari/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=Puglia Cultura e Territorio |language=it-IT}}</ref>

In 1556, Princess Bona Sforza of Aragon, second wife of the [[Sigismund I the Old|King of Poland Sigismund I]], left Poland and settled in Bari, whose principality she had inherited from her parents. During her reign, she fortified the city's castle, as evidenced by an inscription in bronze letters on the cornice around the courtyard, as well as building several churches, a monastery, two water cisterns and made many donations to the monks of the Basilica of San Nicola. Bona Sforza died in the city in 1557.<ref name=":0" /> Following her death, the city of Bari came under the direct rule of the kings of Naples.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BONA Sforza, regina di Polonia - Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bona-sforza-regina-di-polonia_(Dizionario-Biografico)/,%20https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bona-sforza-regina-di-polonia_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref>

In 1813, [[Joachim Murat]], [[Kingdom of Naples (Napoleonic)|King of Naples]] in the [[Napoleonic era]], began a new urbanization, changing the face of the city and setting a new "chessboard" growth model, which continued for many years to come. The village built at the time on the outskirts of the old city still retains its name.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Traversa |first=Michele |date=2011-02-23 |title=Bari, storia di una città. E venne un Re, l'incontro di Gioacchino Murat a Bari |url=https://www.lsdmagazine.com/2011/02/23/bari-storia-di-una-citta-e-venne-un-re-lincontro-di-gioacchino-murat-a-bari/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=LSD Magazine |language=it-IT}}</ref>

Modern plumbing arrived in the city of Bari on 24 April 1915: it was the first completed leg of the nascent Apulian Aqueduct. During the 1930s, [[Araldo di Crollalanza]], the mayor and minister of Bari, oversaw the development of its modern waterfront.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feudis |first=Michele De |title=Don Araldo di Crollalanza, il costruttore della Bari moderna |url=https://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/news/bari/1342649/don-araldo-di-crollalanza-130-anni-senza-il-costruttore-della-bari-moderna.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it |date=19 May 2022 |language=it}}</ref>

=== World War II ===
On 11 September 1943, in connection with the [[Armistice of Cassibile]], Bari was taken without resistance by the [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|British 1st Airborne Division]]{{cn|date=April 2024}}, then during October and November 1943, New Zealand troops from the 2nd New Zealand Division assembled in Bari.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/new-zealand-soldiers-disembark-taranto |title=New Zealand soldiers disembark at Taranto |date= |accessdate=2024-04-08 |quote= |publisher=New Zealand History }}</ref>

The [[Balkan Air Force]] supporting the [[Yugoslav partisans]] was based at Bari.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

==== The 1943 chemical warfare disaster ====
{{further|Air raid on Bari}}
Through a tragic coincidence intended by neither of the opposing sides in [[World War II]], Bari gained the unwelcome distinction of being the only European city in the course of that war to experience effects like those of [[chemical warfare]].{{cn|date=July 2023}}

On the night of 2 December 1943, 105 German [[Junkers Ju 88]] bombers attacked the port of Bari, which was a key supply centre for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces fighting their way up the [[Italian Peninsula]]. Over 20 Allied ships were sunk in the overcrowded harbour, including the U.S. [[Liberty ship]] ''[[SS John Harvey|John Harvey]]'', which was carrying [[mustard gas]]; mustard gas was also reported to have been stacked on the quayside awaiting transport (the chemical agent was intended for retaliation if German forces had initiated chemical warfare). The presence of the gas was highly classified and the U.S. had not informed the British military authorities in the city of its existence.{{cn|date=June 2023}} This increased the number of fatalities, since British physicians—who had no idea that they were dealing with the effects of mustard gas—prescribed treatment proper for those suffering from exposure and immersion, which proved fatal in many cases. Because rescuers were unaware they were dealing with gas casualties, many additional casualties were caused among the rescuers, through contact with the contaminated skin and clothing of those more directly exposed to the gas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'NEILL |first=WALTER |date=2021-06-19 |title=The Disaster at Bari: A Secret Revealed |url=https://medium.com/exploring-history/the-disaster-at-bari-a-secret-revealed-ae4f74b189bd |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Exploring History |language=en}}</ref>{{cn|date=June 2023}}

A member of U.S. General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]'s medical staff, Stewart F. Alexander, was dispatched to Bari following the raid. Alexander had trained at the Army's [[Edgewood Arsenal]] in Maryland,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mapquest.com/us/maryland/edgewood-arsenal-md-283594995|title=Edgewood Arsenal, MD - Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland Map & Directions - MapQuest}}</ref>{{citation needed|reason=Please check this reference; the link(?) identifies the Edgewood Arsenal as part of the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland|date=March 2016}} and was familiar with some of the effects of mustard gas. Although he was not informed of the cargo carried by the ''John Harvey'', and most victims suffered atypical symptoms caused by exposure to mustard diluted in water and oil (as opposed to airborne), Alexander rapidly concluded that mustard gas was present. Although he could not get any acknowledgement of this from the chain of command, Alexander convinced medical staffs to treat patients for mustard exposure and saved many lives as a result. He also preserved many tissue samples from autopsied victims at Bari. After World War II, these samples would result in the development of an early form of [[chemotherapy]] based on mustard, [[Mustine]].<ref name=Infield1976>{{cite book |title=Disaster at Bari |author=Glenn Infield |year=1976 |publisher=New English Library |isbn=978-0-450-02659-1}}.</ref>

On the orders of Allied leaders [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[Winston Churchill]], and Eisenhower, records were destroyed and the whole affair was kept secret for many years after the war. The U.S. records of the attack were declassified in 1959, but the episode remained obscure until 1967, when writer Glenn B. Infield exposed the story in his book ''Disaster at Bari''.<ref name=Infield1976/> Additionally, there is considerable dispute as to the exact number of fatalities. In one account: "[S]ixty-nine deaths were attributed in whole or in part to the mustard gas, most of them American merchant seamen".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq104-4.htm |title=US Naval Historical Center report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112101131/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq104-4.htm |archive-date=January 12, 2008}}</ref> Others put the count as high as "more than one thousand Allied servicemen and more than one thousand Italian civilians".<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1889901210 Amazon book summary] of {{cite book |title=Nightmare in Bari: The World War II Liberty Ship Poison Gas Disaster and Coverup |year=2001 |author=Gerald Reminick |publisher=Glencannon Press |isbn=978-1-889-90121-3}}</ref>

The affair is the subject of two books: the aforementioned ''Disaster at Bari'', by Glenn B. Infield, and ''Nightmare in Bari: The World War II Liberty Ship Poison Gas Disaster and Coverup'', by Gerald Reminick.

In 1988, through the efforts of [[Nick T. Spark]], U.S. Senators [[Dennis DeConcini]] and [[Bill Bradley]], Stewart Alexander received recognition from the [[Surgeon General of the United States Army]] for his actions during the Bari disaster.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tucson Senior Helps Retired Doctor Receive Military Honor |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=943&dat=19880520&id=-61PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eVMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3824,2173744 |newspaper=[[Mohave Daily Miner]] |location=Kingman, Arizona |date=May 20, 1988 |page=B8 |via=Google News}}</ref>

==== ''Charles Henderson'' explosion ====
The port of Bari was again struck by disaster on 9 April 1945 when the Liberty ship ''[[SS Charles Henderson|Charles Henderson]]'' exploded in the harbour while offloading 2,000 tons of aerial bombs (half of that amount had been offloaded when the explosion occurred). Three hundred and sixty people were killed and 1,730 were wounded. The harbour was again rendered non-operational, this time for a month.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
File:Bari explosion view from Barracks crop sm.jpg|9 April 1945 – view from the barracks. Photo by WOJG Hubert Platt Henderson who was stationed at Bari as the Director of the 773rd Band.
File:Bari Explosion 1.jpg|9 April 1945 – photo by WOJG Hubert Platt Henderson who was stationed at Bari as the Director of the 773rd Band
File:Italy 4 Bari Explosion front b.jpg|9 April 1945 – photo by WOJG Hubert Platt Henderson who was stationed at Bari as the Director of the 773rd Band
</gallery>