SusanT

Sorry that the Bari gigs have been cancelled along  with all of the others. I live in the area so it's less of a hassle but I imagine it upsets your plans in a serious way.

Since we were getting close to the date of the Bari gigs, I was planning to write some suggestions about the area. Should you decide to go ahead with your trip to southern Italy, just a few comments.

When you get to Bari, you can take a train from the airport that gets you to Bari city center in 15 minutes. It costs about 5 euros. Or you can take a small shuttle bus for 4 euros which takes about 30 min to get to the city center (where the train station is); the city bus from the airport costs only about 1 euro but it takes much longer to get to the center.

From Bari airport you can find coach connections to Matera or you can go to Bari train station and take either a coach or a train to Matera. Alberobello, which is south of Bari, is a popular tourist destination. If you want to go swimming, Monopoli has nice beaches (some are free and others have lidos). 

Lecce is a pretty city farther south in Puglia with beautiful Baroque churches and a Roman amphitheater.

Trani is a pretty city on the coast which you can reach by train from Bari.

To get to Naples from Bari, take a coach (Flixbus, Marino for example) because if you take a train you have to change.It takes only 3 hours.

Gotta go to work now. If you need more info, let me know.

Watching Mika on Italian X Factor is what got me interested in listening to his music