Thanks to the commitment of the consuls associated with the consular corps of Puglia, Basilicata and Molise, and the support of the Popolare di Puglia and Basilicata and the Municipality of Bari, on the thousandth anniversary of the anniversary, a commemorative plaque dedicated to Melo da Bari was inaugurated, 1000 years since his death. Present were the vice mayor Eugenio Di Sciascio, the municipal councilor delegated for the historical, artistic and architectural heritage Micaela Paparella, the consuls Ioana Gheorghias (Romania), Ugo Patroni Griffi (Switzerland), Pierluigi Rossi (Portugal), Massimo Salomone (Kingdom of the Netherlands), Luigi De Santis (Israel), Stefano Romanazzi (France) and Riccardo Di Matteo (Czech Republic).
“This is a dutiful contribution to the figure of Melo da Bari, a legendary man from Bari who, in his adventurous life, held a political and diplomatic role of significant importance for the city,” we read in a note.
Eugenio Di Sciascio, deputy mayor of the Municipality of Bari, declared: «Melo da Bari is certainly one of the figures who characterized the transition from Byzantine to Norman domination and then thereafter. It is right to pay homage to him and remember him, because we citizens of Bari are still children of a very complex history, full of episodes and details and we are the fruit of this history.”
Ugo Patroni Griffi, Dean of the consular corps of Puglia, Basilicata and Molise and Consul of Switzerland, explained: «The figure of Melo da Bari represented the indication of a city that opened up to the world. In the Middle Ages, there was a widespread expression, “For all the gold of Bari”, demonstrating how ours was a very rich and commercial city that lived on the sea and towards the sea. For this reason, I believe it is an excellent viaticum to remember the potential of the city which in recent years we are also rediscovering in its view of the sea”.
