The patron saint of Bari is San Nicola, with the Basilica of San Nicola next to the seaside in Bari. The main event related to San Nicola takes place between the 8th and 10th of May, with the main day being the 9th of May. This event commemorates the arrival by sea of the body of Saint Nicholas, better known today as Santa Claus, from Myra in Turkey in 1087. The city has organises several events to commerate this, including parades, concerts and masses. However, the central event is the re-enactment of the arrival of the saint, the traslazione or "translation", where the statue is taken from the Basilica di San Nicola, where it normally resides, out to sea and back again.
The proceedings also have an aura of mysticism since the miracle of the manna di San Nicola also takes place on the 9th of May. The manna is a clear liquid which seeps from the bones of the saint and which is collected every year on the 9 May, on the anniversary of the translation, from the urn in which the bones are kept. This liquid is mixed with water and either drunk or smeared on diseased parts of the body by the faithful, and is said to have miraculous healing properties.
Saint Nicholas (255-334) is also a symbol of the close relationships between the region of Puglia and the Eastern Orthodox church, since the Saint was an advocate of the Unity of the Holy Church. He is said to have come from an affluent Christian background in Patara, in what is now modern-day Turkey. He moved to Myra where he became bishop almost by accident in 295, because one of the Church elders had dreamt that the first layman with the name of Nicholas to enter the local church on a given morning was to be made bishop.
