Daily life
Codice fiscale
KO-dee-cheh fees-KA-leh
Your Italian tax code — free, same-day, and required before a lease, a bank account, a SIM or a doctor.
Permesso di soggiorno
per-MES-so dee sod-JOR-no
The residence permit. Non-EU arrivals file for it within eight working days of entry, on paper, at a post office.
Le Ferrovie
leh fer-ro-VEE-eh
'The railways', plural for a reason — four different companies run out of Bari Centrale and each has its own ticket, app and platform.
Contratto registrato
kon-TRAT-to reh-jees-TRA-to
A lease registered with the tax authority within 30 days. Without it you cannot register residence, and without residence almost nothing official works.
Work
Addizionale regionale
ad-dee-tsyo-NA-leh reh-jo-NA-leh
The regional income-tax surcharge. Puglia's was raised in 2026 to cover the health-service deficit and now reaches the legal maximum on higher incomes.
La Fiera del Levante
la FYEH-ra del leh-VAN-teh
The Levant Fair, held in September since 1930 — the city's oldest institution for trading with the eastern Mediterranean, and still a fixture.
Health
ASL
AH-zel
Azienda Sanitaria Locale — the local health authority, and the right word here. Sicily says ASP; Puglia does not.
Social
Sciampagne
sham-PA-nyeh
In Barese, a fizzy sweet drink rather than champagne. The dialect is full of Italian-looking words that mean something else entirely.
Uè, ce sce?
WEH cheh SHEH
'Hey, how's it going?' in Barese — the standard street greeting, and unintelligible to a northern Italian.
Food
Orecchiette
o-rek-KYET-teh
The little ear-shaped pasta. Made by hand on the doorsteps of via Arco Basso in the old town and sold from the same doorsteps.
Focaccia barese
fo-KAT-cha ba-REH-zeh
Thick, oily, with cherry tomatoes and olives pressed into the top. A civic institution, and different from every other Italian focaccia.
Culture
San Nicola
san nee-KO-la
Saint Nicholas, whose relics have been in Bari since 1087. The city is one of the few Catholic sites of major Orthodox pilgrimage.
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