Molfetta. Day Two

Tuesday

The weather in Molfetta was beautifully mild, in the mid to high 20’s during the day and a little cool at night. We had coffee and then took the short walk from our apartment to the square where Roberto was already waiting to take us back to the Molfetta Cathedral. He commented how the short section of coast between the two cities was looking run down and how he wanted to see some resort hotels there to lift the local economy and capitalise on the beautiful deep blue Adriatic Sea. 
We entered the Cathedral and went to a small side chapel that was already quite full. We moved to the front to seats that had obviously being left for us. As Bishop S.E. Mons Domenico Cornacchia arrived he greeted us with ‘welcome to you, the Australians’. A lady behind said, ‘we are also from Australia!’ The Bishop was a charismatic man and with the help of the Priest began the service. By this point it must have been obvious I do not know my way around a Catholic Church or service, but everyone was very gracious. At the end of the service the Bishop left, and we had a chat with the Australian’s behind us, they had come from Adelaide. Roberto came and asked if we wished to take coffee with the Bishop, which we did after a ride in a lift and access through security doors. We had short black coffees, almond biscuits and a polite chat. We were then shown some of the relics and statues in that same section of the Church. We then fare-welled the Bishop and went to inspect the street signs for via Freemantle and via Molfetta d’Australia. They were in a new residential area that seemed a little bleak. We were later sent a clipping from the local newspaper outlining our meeting with the Bishop.

As arranged the previous evening Roberto took us to Molfetta Institute (High School) where we were reacquainted with English teacher Anna Amarto and introduced to the Director, Prof Maria Rosaria Pugliese, along with other staff and students. One of the students made us coffee and we chatted about sustainability and the possibility of student exchange between Molfetta and Fremantle.   Something I will follow up on once back in Fremantle.  Maria then said the school was putting on a small performance and would we like to stay. It was a stunning performance of modern dance, accompanied by students singing or playing instruments.  Once the performance was over I was asked to address the class.

Then more pics!  We were so pleased we decided to stay and attend. There were more photographs and Roberto told us we were late for our next appointment.
That was at the Diocese Museum of Molfetta. In the courtyard was an impressive bronze sculpture by Giulio Cozzoli.

The people welcomed us in and we quickly saw this was a very well appointed Museum with some very important exhibits, all expertly curated over several floors. Of particular beauty is the library housing many old manuscripts.  In a nearby room students were using the books as a reference.

Roberto advised us he had work as a DJ at night and really needed to get back to organise his equipment and get a siesta; and it would be a late night so he would see us later the next day. However as we drove towards Giovinazzo he pulled into La Playa Del Sol Restaurant where he had booked lunch for a friend and us. She was trying to get a visa to the USA and took the opportunity to practice her English with us. Our table was right on the water’s edge as we ate seafood course after seafood course. When we thought the meal was coming to an end the waiter brought each of us a half lobster on spaghetti. We were also given a graphic pinafore to protect our cloths. What a stunning meal, with stunning company.

Once back in Gioviazzo we took the opportunity to do some shopping and catch up on social media and have a nap.
At night we fancied a light meal, thinking we might get a pizza, but decided instead to get a meal at a restaurant at the waterfront called Romanazzis. The crisp table linen, good service, fine food and fine wine made it the perfect end to a great day.