Bitetto, Bari, Puglia

I would go to the Baroque city of Lecce. Train from Bari.

Thanks, I'll look it up.

you could visit trani. beautiful cathedral right by the sea. or gravina, a beautiful hill town further inland. you cross the ravine there on the 'no time to die bridge' for beautiful views of the town. by car, it shouldn't take too long. i have a link to some pictures from my summer trip in my profile if you want to take a look.

Thanks, I’ll check it out!

We stayed in Lecce 2 nights and Bari for 3 this summer without a car. From Bari we took a day trip and stopped at both Monopoli and Polignano a Mare -- the views of the Adriatic Sea are breathtaking, and I think you could easily visit both beach towns. However, I think you may wish to spend an entire day in Lecce it's amazing Baroque architecture and it has a palpable "laid back" vibe all its own. I understand why some call it the "Florence of the South".

Thanks, sounds good!

a bit of a side note, but since your relatives were there only 2 generations back have you tried to contact any cousins or other relatives who might be there? Also I've read articles where prior to a trip to a small town they've contacted the city to check if there might be any family records (marriage, etc) in the town archives they can see.

@John
I've used Ancestry to build my family tree (and my sister and I are in the process of obtaining dual citizenship with Italy) but I don't know of any cousins left in the area. (Thanks for the reminder, though -- I'll try again to see if I can find anyone.) I would love to try to access records while we're there but it will be between Christmas and the New Year so I don't expect to find the office open. I'm going to likely have to be content with simply visiting the church and checking out the cemetery.

I guess I read your original post a bit too quickly and thought your grandmother was from Bitetto but you said her family, not her. So the connection to relatives still there may be a bit more distant.

If you can find the passenger list with her family then depending on the year it's worth looking at the record image and not just the summary. In some years there was a 2-page arrival manifest and on the 2nd page they listed "the name and address of the nearest relative or friend in the country whence alien came". That might give you the name of a branch of the family that may still be there.

A few years ago I read a book by a woman who had gone back to the town in Italy some of her relatives were from. She had written an email or two to the town record office and when she visited an official was delighted to share what they had found. Wish I could remember the name of the book. In any event, as you said, they very well may be closed during the stretch you will visit.

One other thought is to hire a local guide from Bari for a day to show you around Bitetto and vicinity. Since Bitetto is pretty close you may be able to find one familiar with Bitetto and if you let them know in advance of your interest they may be able to find out for you if the record office is open. Guides in Southern Italy can have day or half-day rates that are reasonable and there are some websites that link people up to a local guide (or maybe a search engine can find a guide directly).

If you do end up finding any relatives I hope you'll post and let us know!

Thank you, John, that's excellent information. I will definitely check the ship manifests and see if I can find any addresses. I'll look into emailing the records office as well.
If you remember the name of that book, please let me know. Sounds like an interesting read.
Will let you know if I find any cousins!