Bari, verdict by verdict

Bari is Puglia's front door and still a working port first: ferries slide in and out of the harbour, nonne shape orecchiette on the doorsteps of Arco Basso in the maze of Bari Vecchia, and the Basilica di San Nicola holds the relics that made Nicholas a saint long before he became Santa Claus. Add the Norman castle, the lungomare promenade along the water, and street food that runs from focaccia barese to fried sgagliozze.

The candor part: the Vecchia is atmospheric rather than polished, and its back lanes still reward streetwise instincts after dark. The city proper fills a day and a half at most, so its real value is as a railhead, since Polignano, Alberobello's trulli and Matera all sit within day-trip range, and August heat is fierce. In exchange you get Italy's most atmospheric working old town and arguably the region's best eating at working-city prices.

Two to three days is the right dose: old town, basilica and the orecchiette street first, castle and a lungomare stroll second, then a day given to Polignano, trulli country or Matera. It suits travelers who want southern Italy unvarnished: food-led, lived-in, and used as a base for the region rather than a polished city break.