A Taste of Trani

One of the most striking things about this Puglian city that is situated 42 kilometres north of Bari on Italy’s eastern coast, is the ancient port that was founded strategically along old communication routes. Once considered one of the most important ports in the region, it is impossible not to be impressed with the scenery. Up to 600 boats bob up and down in the water at any one time and there is a row of restaurants that offer typical Pugliese dishes such as Orichette with cime di rapa and polpette di pane al sugo – pasta with broccoli, and meatballs in a tomato salsa respectively. In addition, there are several bars, churches and in the distance, the spectacular cathedral. The port is also where, during the warm summer evenings, groups of friends meet up, sit on the ancient wall aligning the harbour or on one of the wooden benches, to talk about their day as the street lights illuminate the night sky.

Close to the port and in a favoured position overlooking the shores of the Adriatic is the 11th century Romanesque cathedral that is dedicated to the town’s patron saint, San Nicola Pellegrino, the young pilgrim who died in 1094. Saint Nicholas arrived in Trani as a sign from God to “enrich the town”. Where the cathedral now dominates was once the Episcopal Church of Santa Maria where Saint Nicholas fell ill. Open to the public, the inside of the cathedral is equally as fascinating and inspiring. Intricate architecture and decorations honouring a number of saints are plentiful. The Crypt of San Nicola that was started in the early 12th century and finished in 1142 is a spacious and well-lit room consisting of 28 columns of Greek marble. The cathedral is also used as the back-drop of several scenes in the new film by Colombian director Andres Arce Meldonado. Billed as the Italian Oceans 11, it stars actors such as Don Johnson and Gerard Depardieu, as well as popular Italian actors Barbara Bouchet and Giancarlo Giannini who played Mathis in Casino Royale.

To the left of the cathedral is the equally impressive Castello Svevo. Built by Federick II in 1233, the castle is situated in Piazza Manfredi, the square named after Manfred, Federick’s illegitimate son. Its four imposing towers are set at each corner with the smaller towers facing towards the sea. Once used for military purposes, the castle has also been used for a variety of public functions such as the wedding of Manfred and Elena d’Epiro in 1259. During the 16th century the castle was used as a top security prison and a couple of centuries later, in 1799 it was used for less joyous reasons, being the place where noble Tranese who were considered too idealistic were killed and their bodies were then thrown into the sea. Today the castle has a distinctive stone bridge that leads to its main entrance and provides an insight into days gone by. The central courtyard has displays describing its varied history. Surrounded by a deep moat that was once directly linked to the sea, the castle houses a museum where it is possible to see the remains of Frederick II’s marble decorations, along with other artefacts that were recovered during careful restoration work.

Trani is divided into two parts, the main square Piazza della Repubblica with its roads that lead to each part of the town’s outer quarters, and the alluring centro storico that is often referred to by French visitors as a “Little Paris.” The ancient cobbled streets from via La Giudea to via Porta Antica twist and turn through stone arches adorned with dedications to the Madonna, and the rows of historical stone built houses, some of which date back to the 18th century. In the middle of the centro storico, time feels as though it’s standing still. The sheer narrowness of the streets and echo of footsteps on the cobbles beneath your feet add to the feeling of having been transported back to an earlier century. Perhaps this is why the centro storico is regularly used as the location of wedding photographs when the bride and groom pose in front of ancient doorways. It is among the streets in the historical centre where many small and characteristic churches can be found such as the Chiesa di San Donato that’s situated close to the tower clock dating from 1473 which has the town’s coat of arms emblazoned upon it. Then there is one of many Jewish churches, the church of Santa Maria Novo, built in 1244 that proudly boasts as being the oldest synagogue in Europe, and the 10th century church in via San Martino that is incredibly small yet atmospheric, the floor of which is two metres below street level. At night, the centro storico becomes bewitching with an almost ethereal feel except for the occasional voice that can be heard coming from one of the old yet sturdy apartments that were constructed using marmo di Trani, the well-known local limestone.

Heading towards the opposite side of the port is where the public gardens that date from the 19th century are situated. Offering paths lined with flowers and rows of pine trees, as well as an aquarium and fountain that are enjoyed by a group of tortoises, the ville communale overlooks the ocean below and provides a particularly striking panorama – to its right is the monastery of Colonna, and to the left, the cathedral. Regularly attracting crowds of families, particularly on sunny Sunday mornings, the ville, that in itself has plenty of history, provides an area of tranquillity for a quiet and relaxing read or a pleasant stroll. It is here where the Monumento ai Caduti rests, a monument erected in 1923 in honour of those that fought during World War I. Sitting proudly on either side of the monument are two replica canons from World War II, one of which weighs a staggering 2000 kg. However, it’s the medieval style arc, known as the Fortino di Sant’Antonio, located to the left of the entrance to the gardens that really catches the eye. Built in 1400 the arc is said to have once been the location of a raised bridge and today houses a small and long-abandoned ancient church. It leads to a platform that presents another splendid view of Trani’s port and cathedral from a very different and fine angle.

Slightly out of the town centre on the coast road in the direction towards Bisceglie, is part of the town known as Colonna, home to the church of Santa Maria della Colonna and alongside it is the monastery, both of which were founded in 1098 and once belonged to the Franciscans. The outside of the abbey has decorative elements typical of Roman architecture with rows of large arcs as well as a charming rose window that is arguably the central focus of the monastery. In the church itself, the Crocifisso di Colonna, the Colonna Cross is conserved. The cross is associated with an intriguing story. In 1480, the cross that is adorned with an effigy of Jesus was stolen by a group of Turks. As they made their way with the cross by boat, they suddenly came to a standstill. One of the group, fearing the cross was blocking their way, attacked it with a sword causing the nose of the effigy to Jesus to bleed. The cross was hurled into the sea and was later found halfway between Trani’s port and the monastery. Every year at the beginning of May there is a dedication to this important day that is celebrated with a grand procession through the town’s streets. Today the monastery is used mainly for cultural events and concerts whereas the church hosts a number of events including weddings. In fact last year the church was the venue of the wedding between a popular Italian comic and his Tranese bride.

The weekly Tuesday market that is situated slightly out of the town centre is always bustling with locals and is certainly worth a stroll, if only to hear the local dialect Tranese. However, it’s the summer months in particular that really depict Trani in a mesmerising light, mainly due to the series of summer concerts and 3-day festival in honour of Saint Nicholas at the end of July. This unique Pugliese town has an innocent yet fascinating appeal and is situated in an unspoilt part of Italy that does not disappoint.

Top 10 Benefits of Automated Text Messages for Business in 2022

While communication has become simpler than ever, it can get tough for businesses to keep up with everything. This is why they look for new modes to simplify their daily operations. Automated text messages work as an amazing marketing tool as they are more efficient and effective than email or phone calls. Also, they are recommended for businesses of all sizes.

Automated text messages are just messages sent automatically to your subscribers through an auto-responder. Here are 10 benefits of automated text messages for businesses in 2022 and how they will support your business.

1. Saves your time and money

Text automation is not new. You don’t need to spend anything on it. You can use your current system and add SMS API and SMS integration software. It helps to send, personalize, monitor, and optimize your contact and send automated messages to the customer. It is a great money saver in marketing and customer service.

2. Enjoy the advantages of text-message marketing

Regardless of the business you own, text message marketing benefits you. SMS works as an exceptional direct marketing channel, appointment reminders, simple customer service, loyalty programs, or feedback.

3. Improve your business efficiency

Automated texts help businesses communicate with their clients more efficiently without annoying them. Smart businesses use texting technology to increase customer satisfaction.

4. Communicate with customers

Often companies want to contact their customers and vice versa. However, sometimes calling and email are not helpful. If your calls are not getting answered or emails are not being replied to, you can lose your customers. Hence, you can substitute unavailable hotline and social networking channels with SMS services to develop smooth SMS communication. It will save your business from losing customers and sales.

5. Send one message to multiple recipients

You don’t have to make separate calls to attend to your customers. You can send one message to many recipients in one go, and your job is done.

6. Promote targeted marketing campaigns

SMS automation helps you create a targeted marketing campaign that can be sent directly to your prospects and customers using the software.

7. Better customer engagement

As texting is fast, you can enjoy quick responses from your customer. It keeps them engaged and informed about the latest releases and updates, which few users check online.

8. Personal touch

Text messages are considered more personal than other digital modes of communication. They are directly received by the recipient and read instantly.

9. Enhanced sales

Automated texts are a great way to enhance sales by informing customers about an offer or sale.

10. Engage with prospects

If you want to generate new leads for your business, automated texts can help you. The automated text response will answer all their queries and turn the prospects into buyers.

An automated text message is an amazing communication channel that is sometimes overlooked. Many business owners don’t realize the potential of automated SMS for lead generation. Use it to reach out to more people and increase your sale in no time.

Busting myths related to Data Science

Data science is a field that has gained popularity in recent years. It is a unison of technology, business, and mathematics that impacts every aspect of our lives. People feel the transitions in data science are complex, and you’ll have to study math, statistics, or programming. But that is not the case. One must accomplish that, but you must also combat the myths about data science you hear from others and chart your course through them!

“Data science is a field of study that deals with large amounts of data and uses cutting-edge tools and procedures to uncover hidden patterns, generate useful data, and make business decisions.”

Before companies hire data scientists, they will indeed check if the person is clear on the basics or not. This field has helped many organizations process their massive volume of data. Many thoughts and perceptions of data science are also circulating with popularity, some of which are not factual. Hence together, let’s bust some of the common misconceptions about data science.

Data Science is a field of genius
Lack of understanding gives birth to such myths. The fact for data science is that one needs an understanding of statistics and probability because most of the predictive modeling techniques are based on these concepts. However, you will never have to utilize statistical methods to calculate the outcomes of complex equations as a data scientist. The requirement here is more of common sense and logical implementations. This clears the air of data science being a field of only geniuses.

AI will replace data science
As it is a developing industry, we expect to see all manual processes become automated over time. Increasingly advanced algorithms are being developed to obviate the requirement for a data scientist. That, however, is unlikely to happen. Solid decision, domain understanding, and hard work will be required even with the most advanced algorithms.

A tool learning makes a complete data scientist
SAS, Apache Spark, BigML, and many more tools and programming languages are available for modeling and organizing extensive data. The myth related to tools is that mastering one tool can make you an expert data scientist. In reality, that is not the case. Data science necessitates proficiency in a variety of tools and computer languages. Data science isn’t all about programming. It’s merely one part of a bigger picture. In reality, one needs to gain knowledge of all types of tools involved.

Data science only builds predictive models
As the hype is created about the data science field, everyone has a lot of expectations about it. Knowing what your client requires is good, but can that be predicted in all cases? In reality, there are multiple layers in a data science project. Creating a model takes various stages, and there is a life cycle that includes market research. There is a term market basket analysis which is a mix of clustering algorithms and association rules.

Data science only deals with bulk data
Even small companies think to hire data scientists once they reach large customer strengths. In the same way, even the data scientist will think that they can work for companies dealing with huge amounts of data. However, bulk data can be your ultimate goal, but it is not needed. Any amount of data can be processed with the help of data science.

Takeaway
Data science has helped businesses in various ways. By not trusting on myths, one needs to be more clear about the basics. I hope with this information, we have been able to clear a few of the myths about data science. Demand for Data Scientists is already sky high, and the aspirants need to make the right career move by equipping themselves with in-demand skills and expertise.