Gravina in Puglia - Gravina in Puglia

Gravina in Puglia is a city of Puglia.

To know

Geographical notes

Gravina is located in an area with karst characteristics. The subsoil of the city has in fact many underground cavities. To the east it is crossed by the Gravina torrent which determines a canyon conformation on which there are several rock churches.

When to go

The climate is typically Mediterranean: winters are relatively mild, with temperatures that usually never drop below zero degrees; summers, on the other hand, are hot and dry.

Background

Thanks to the strategic position of the various towns, Gravina can boast an ancient history. Its territory appears to have been inhabited since the ancient Paleolithic, given the high presence of water in the Gravina stream, while the most substantial remains date back to the Neolithic, since 5950 BC.

At the time of Alessandro il Molosso, became a polis with the right to mint coins and after the third Samnite war (305 BC) it became a Roman municipium, touched by the route of the Via Appia. It was easy prey for Alaric's Visigoths and Genseric's Vandals in the 5th century BC. Destroyed the inhabited center, one on the Botromagno hill and the other on the edge of the ravine, the population moved to the underlying ravine, where they added other houses to the existing caves.

With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it followed the events of the whole of Italy, passed through the ephemeral dominion of the Erulus Odoacer, the Gothic kingdom and, finally, at the beginning of the 5th century, the reconquest of the work of Justinian. During the same century it was incorporated into the domain of the new Lombard invaders, until the advent of the Normans. Around 1006 it was a county with Accardo, Umfrido's father. In 1091 he reconstituted the diocese and allowed the construction of the cathedral near the castle, on the edge of the "Gravina" between the districts, Piaggio and Fondovito.

The Aleramici and De Say families elevated it to a marquisate; Frederick II of Swabia, with Gilberto d'Aigle, placed it at the head of the Terra di Bari execution, while his county included the current territories of the municipalities of: Altamura, Ruvo, Bitetto and Grumo Appula.

From 1267 to 1380 it was a fief of the Angevins. In this same period, Gravina became a state and feudal city. In the thirteenth century the monks of the knightly orders arrived: Templars and Knights of Jerusalem, who were owners of houses and large territories. In the 14th century the Orsini of Rome became feudal lords. Subsequently the descendants of the Del Balzo and Anguillara houses, of Taranto and Solofra alternated. Francesco Orsini, prefect of Rome, elevated the fief of Gravina in Puglia to a duchy.

The Orsini were lords from 1380 to 1816. During this long period of time, the city suffered from feudal bullying, from the high clergy and from the local oligarchy. The city is well known as Pietro Francesco Orsini was born there in 1649. The situation worsened during the Bourbon period, when oppression and violations of elementary human rights increased, so much so that Gravina counted many revolutionaries and patriots from 1789 until the unification of Italy, with a Carbonara "sale". Protagonist of the historical events of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he contributed greatly to the unification of Italy with patriots and martyrs of the wars of independence and the First World War. In fact, in the municipal villa, a war memorial was dedicated to them. The city was partly damaged by the bombing of German planes during the Second World War.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

• 40.816516.41391 Fondovico
• Piaggio

Fractions

• Barisci
• Dolcecanto
• Serra del Corvo lake
• Murgetta
• Pantanella
• Pescofalieri
• Rifezza

How to get

By plane

The nearest airport is the airport of Bari, located to the north.

By car

• To and fromNorthern Italy via the highway Bologna-Taranto.
• From Bari is Power through the Bari
• From Canosa di Puglia is Foggia through the of the Murge
• From Matera taking the

On the train

• 40.82594116.4180351 Gravina in Puglia Station (FAL), Via Madonna Thank you, 38. It is a railway station located on the railway line Bari-Altamura-Avigliano-Power of the Appulo Lucane Railways. The second station of the State Railways was closed in 2016, however the canceled section continues to be served by road connections.  

How to get around

In the streets of the historic center it is necessary to go on foot.

By car

The city is affected by a large ZTL area along the historic center. More details can be found here. Some routes are affected by the blue stripes.

What see

Churches

• 40.817416.41331 Co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, Piazza Benedetto XIII. The façade, divided into three parts by two pilasters, is composed of three portals, of which the central one is larger but unfinished, and a rose window, the rest of the ancient Romanesque church, in the center of which is a bas-relief of the Assumption. The two side portals are embellished with high reliefs and two small statues depicting Christ; the left portal is dated 1495. The central portal is a recent work: it is made up of 24 panels which tell of evangelical episodes. The bell tower was completed in 1698 by Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Orsini with the construction of the "cipollone" on its top. Protruding from the left aisle and overhanging the ravine is the so-called chapel, built in the first half of the seventeenth century, with two floors. The interior of the church has three naves divided by columns with bare capitals. The ceiling is in carved and gilded wood, in Baroque style: four large canvases were applied on it in the seventeenth century. There are several side chapels, including the one dedicated to St. Michael the archangel, patron saint of the city; these chapels are embellished with polychrome marble altars, mostly from the 1700s, and the work of the Neapolitan Francesco Cimafonte. In the presbytery is an important wooden choir from 1561 and a large organ.  

• 40.81720616.4134152 Church of Santa Maria delle Domenicane, Piazza Benedetto XIII, 23, ☎ 390803251307. The church has a single nave and retains the gallery with grates typical of the seventeenth century. After a century there was the need to expand the church by extending it to the side of the monastery and rebuilding the two side altars one dedicated to the Madonna del Rosario and the other to San Domenico di Guzman. In the early nineteenth century the flooring was redone through majolica and the side altars were covered in marble. On the main altar there is a painting of the Assumption of Mary by Carlo Rosa and on the entrance door there is a grated choir and an organ dating back to the 18th century. The church has a two-storey façade marked by pilasters and a crown with junctions, two large oval oculi and a troubled window. In the monastery there were also a considerable amount of paintings but a large part passed to the state property after the suppression laws.  

• 40.8173616.4149033 Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio (Church of the Purgatory), Notar Domenico Square. The church was built as a funerary chapel of the Orsini family between 1649 and 1654 for the celebration of masses in suffrage of the souls in Purgatory. The church has a characteristic entrance portal with a tympanum on which there are two skeletons.  

• 40.82546416.4192464 Church of Our Lady of Grace (Church of L'Aquila), Via Madonna Thank you, 23 (Behind the station), ☎ 390803265860. The most characteristic aspect of this church is that of the presence of a large bas-relief eagle on the facade. 
• 40.812316.4186245 Church of San Sebastiano, Via S. Sebastiano, 56. Church and convent. Erected in 1474. 
• 40.81890316.4164316 Church of Santa Teresa, Vico S. Matteo, 1. 
• 40.81599816.4142547 Church of Sant'Agostino, Pellicciari Square, 15. 

• 40.81953416.4149488 Church of Santa Sofia, Via Donato Cristiani, 43 (near the church of San Francesco). A tradition speaks of an ancient church, rebuilt in its current form at the end of the 15th century. With a single nave it retains a gilded wooden ceiling with rosettes, surrounded by a women's gallery in gilded wood. Of extraordinary beauty is the funeral mausoleum which houses the mortal remains of Angela Castriota Scanderberg, descendant of the Albanian hero Giorgio Scandenberg and wife of Duke Ferdinando II Orsini. The monument is 6.60 meters high and 3.20 meters wide, with a double-headed eagle in the middle of each shield, the coat of arms of Albania. A monastery is attached to the church of Santa Sofia which hosted Poor Clares until the 19th century, when the order was suppressed. 

• 40.81950716.4158849 Church of S. Francesco D'Assisi, Largo S. Francesco, 6, ☎ 39 080 326 9163. The current church dates back to 1500, and stands on a pre-existing church of 1300. The eighteenth-century bell tower and the Cloister stand out. 
• 40.81794316.4166910 Church of San Nicola, Via S. Nicola, 1, ☎ 39 080 325 1275. 
• 40.81667316.41978511 Church of San Domenico, Piazza Camillo Benso Count of Cavour, 16, ☎ 39 080 326 1278. 
• 40.81825316.41364212 Church of Santa Lucia, Calata S. Lucia, 11. 
• 40.8179316.4166413 Church of Saints Nicola and Cecilia, Via S. Nicola, 1, ☎ 39 080 325 1275. 
• 40.81676216.41568614 Church of the Annunciation. 
• 40.81787416.42375615 Church of San Giorgio. 

• 40.81617216.41435616 Church of San Giovanni Battista, Pellicciari Square, 19, ☎ 39 080 325 1146. Church of the fifteenth century, with the elevation of the facade rather simple. Inside the roof with ribs that partially recall the style of the Gothic churches. 
• 40.81878816.41421117 Church of San Giovanni Evangelista, Via San Giovanni Evangelista, 21, ☎ 39 080 326 7604.  
• 40.81650516.41295418 Church of San Bartolomeo, Calata Grotte S. Michele, 48 (Near the rock church of S. Michele alle grotte). 
• 40.81875516.41425419 Mater Gratiae Church, Via San Giovanni Evangelista, 19. 
• 40.82335616.42151520 Church of San Felice, Largo Cappuccini, 6, ☎ 39 080 326 7692. 
• 40.81746416.41586621 Church of the Gesù, Piazza Plebiscito. 
• Crypt of San Marco. 
• 40.81463816.41366922 Crypt Tota (Crypt of St. Elias). 
• Crypt of Santa Maria della Neve. 
• 40.81078816.40963623 Crypt of Santo Stefano. 
• 40.8221416.41030924 Church of the Eternal Father (Deesis), Via Madonna della Stella. It is incomplete, as evidence of this are some arches and columns that introduce the main nave, without an apse; beside two furrows used for burial. There were frescoes dedicated to St. Nicholas and St. Peter, subsequently collected and restored at the E. P. Santomasi Foundation. 
• Church of SS. Annunziata. Today deconsecrated, inside it featured an altar and various religious paintings; according to tradition, the murder of a heretical bishop took place there, dating back to the 15th century. In 1714 Pope Benedict XIII decreed the end of the celebratory functions and their transfer to the Cathedral, due to the dilapidated conditions in which the church was. 

Rock churches

• 40.81802416.41472125 Rock church of San Basilio (Piaggio district). It is assumed that this church dates back to the 10th century, is divided into four naves and has an apse placed laterally with respect to the entrance. There were some frescoes that are partially visible today. 

• 40.81974416.41239526 Rock church of the Madonna della Stella (Santa Maria della Stella), Via Fontana la Stella, ☎ 39 3500818462, @[email protected]. On offer. Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun 10: 30-17: 00. The name derives from a tradition according to which a fresco of the Madonna and child with a star on the forehead was found there. Used, probably in pagan times for a fertility deity, in the sixteenth century it became a Marian sanctuary. The church, whose original access was from the Piaggio district, is presented in a single room with side benches. The church is now accessed by skirting the ancient walls and crossing the viaduct-aqueduct bridge from the 18th century.  
• 40.82024316.41396727 Church of the Sepolcreto (Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli), Via Fontana la Stella (near the steep part of the ravine). For a fee. It is a rock church with three naves separated by three pillars ending in three apses. The presbytery is raised and delimited by iconostases and has the plinth of the altar in the center. The central apse still retains visible traces of a fresco depicting the blessing Christ Pantocrator while the right apse houses three Greek crosses. It is called the church of the Sepolcreto because of the different tombs present.  

• 40.8156816.41271728 Rock church of San Michele delle Grotte, Calata Grotte S. Michele. The church was excavated in a single and huge tuff rock probably between the 8th and 10th centuries, also annexing other small caves near the main hall. In one of these, according to legend, the massacre of the Gravinesi by the Saracens took place during the third raid in 999, an event recorded in an epigraph placed on the wall of the same cave. The human skulls and bones visible here, however, most likely belong to corpses moved here during the 17th-18th centuries.

On 8 May each year, the celebration of the Feast of San Michele delle Grotte is held in memory of the legendary apparition of San Michele in a cave on Monte Sant'Angelo. On this occasion, the inhabitants of the neighborhood decorate the streets with the so-called "balloni".  

• 40.81282916.41269229 Crypt of San Vito Vecchio, Via S. Vito old. Not open to visitors. This rock church featured beautiful late 13th century frescoes, but the site has been abandoned and used as a waste deposit. In 1956 the Italian State acquired the property by detaching the frescoes that are now exhibited in Palazzo Pomarici. The frescoes present a Pantocrator seated on a throne and figures of saints. 

• 40.81622916.41120630 Caves of the seven chambers, Via Madonna della Stella (On the right side of the ravine in front of the balcony of the cave church of San Michele). These are seven caves worked by man, intercommunicating with each other dating back to the early Christian era due to the presence of an early Christian Greek inscription and symbols of primitive Christianity. This reminds the visitor of the presence of the first Christians in the land of Gravina to be traced back to the first centuries of Christianity. 

Civil architectures

• 40.82008216.4131231 Aqueduct bridge over the Gravina stream (Viaduct bridge). It is a double arch bridge that was erected in 1778 to reach the sanctuary of the Madonna della stella. But it was also used as an aqueduct to supply the city with water. Even today it connects the two banks of the Gravina stream, being identified as the symbol of the city.  

• 40.81696816.41524832 Underground Gravina, Via Antonio Meucci, 10, ☎ 39 328 541 5379. 10 € (Aug 2020). The visits take place at different times, book the most suitable time. The subsoil of Gravina is full of karst cavities and tunnels used in the past as cellars and shelters. These spaces are now abandoned, having lost their original use, but a local association takes care of tourist enhancement through private visits. Here hides a different perspective on the city and its soul, explained by the guides who will lead you to exploration with passion. 
• 40.81666716.41654833 Clock tower, Viale Orsini, 61 (near the Palazzo Ducale degli Orsini). Neo-Gothic style building built on the city walls. In 1892 a clock of the Curci firm of Naples was placed on four quadrants.  
• 40.81722316.41711734 Palazzo Ducale degli Orsini, Via Matteotti, 30. 
• 40.8209116.41729935 De Gemmis-Pellicciari Palace, Corso Aldo Moro, 17. Eighteenth-century palace built by the noble Pellicciari, today belonging to the Barons de Gemmis of Castel Foce. It is a large elegant arched aristocratic palace with two towers to the north and south. It is overlooked by a covered veranda. 
• 40.81669616.41466836 Popolizio Palace, Via Guglielmo Marconi, 17, ☎ 39 337238139, @[email protected]. Historic house with a museum. 

Other

• 40.83371416.42026437 Gravina Castle. Wanted byemperor Frederick II, was built on the top of a hill north of the citadel between 1223 and 1231, remembered by Vasari as a barque surrounded by walls for birds, testifying to the emperor's hunting activity. The territory included several wooded areas of an area called Guardialto and a lake, which has now disappeared. The building is rectangular in shape, measuring 29.4 x 58.7 m, in its current state of ruin; originally it was on two floors, surrounded by a small courtyard, and accessed from an entrance called cum porta magna, the long sides included four square towers, of which only the bases remain, and there was also a cistern, located in the basement , which guaranteed sufficient water supply. The ground floor was equipped with various deposits, ovens, kitchens and stables, while the top floor contained a room that housed the sovereign and the men during hunting parties or general meetings of the Curia.  
• 40.82422316.40546538 Naturalistic Park of Capotenda. 

• 40.81717116.41485639 Ferdinanda Fountain of the "Four fountains" (Fountain of the four piscioli), Piazza Benedetto XIII. This fountain was inaugurated in 1778 and built by the Duke of Gravina Domenico Amedeo Orsini. The same was rebuilt in 1858 due to the subsidence of the underlying floor (since Gravina is full of underground quarries). 
• 40.8165516.41675440 Municipal villa. The municipal villa is one of the landmarks of the city for the presence of large shady trees and many people walking around in the various hours of the city. Inside there is also the Monument to the fallen of the Great War. 
• 40.81832216.43587441 Cola Cola Monument, via Bari. A great reproduction of Cola cola (see purchasing section). 
• 40.81736716.4138942 Monument to Pope Benedict XIII, Piazza Benedetto XIII. In the century Pietro Francesco Orsini was a pope originally from Gravina between 1724 and 1730. 
• 40.81914616.39805943 Botromagno Archaeological Park. One of the largest archaeological areas in southern Italy. 
• Eternal Father Archaeological Park. 

• 40.81721616.41468544 Finia Chapter Library, Notar Domenico Square (Opposite the church of Santa Maria del Suffragio and the Ferdinandean fountain), ☎ 39 0808413518. The Library is one of the oldest Apulian libraries, rich in a book heritage of over 11,000 volumes. It was founded in 1686 by Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Orsini. The heritage was expanded in the eighteenth thanks to Pope Benedict XIII. The most conspicuous donation is due to Cardinal Francesco Antonio Finy, hence the name of the library. 

Museums

• 40.81844916.41499145 Museum of the Ettore Pomarici Santomasi Foundation, Via Museo, 20, ☎ 39 0803251021, @[email protected]. For a fee. Tue-Sun 9: 00-13: 00 and 16: 00-20: 00. There is an archaeological section with finds from the Botromagno site (VII-III century BC), a picture gallery with 260 paintings, numismatic and ceramic collections. In one of the rooms of the museum there are the frescoes of the Crypt of San Vito Vecchio detached from the original site and kept here. 
• 40.81737216.41478746 Capitular Museum of Sacred Art, Piazza Benedetto XIII, 25. 
• 40.81739216.41464747 Civic Archaeological Museum, Piazza Benedetto XIII. In the same building where the information point is located. 

Events and parties

• 40.82593216.4137692 St. George's Fair, Via Spinazzola (Trade fair center). from 20 to 25 April. The Regional Fair of San Giorgio is the oldest fair in Italy. There is a document certifying the restoration of the fair, granted by Charles of Anjou dating back to 1294, the fair sees the display of its products by operators in the agriculture, crafts, food and wine sectors. During the fair days, a medieval historical reenactment is also organized. 

What to do

• 40.81765716.4149751 Hammam Qui Si Sana, Via Piaggio, 1, ☎ 39 080 321 0659. Health centre. 

Panoramic points

• 40.81758216.4130992 Belvedere on the Gravina, Piazza Benedetto XIII. From this point you can admire the view of part of the historic center but above all of the Gravina and the bridge. Very impressive even at night with the artistic lighting on the rocks. 
• 40.81685916.4126043 Front panorama, via Civita. From this point you can see the other rock environments on the Gravina including the Cave of the seven rooms. 

Shopping

Among the local products to buy is Verdeca wine, a sweet wine from Gravina prepared by mixing local vines and Malvasia.

There cola-cola is a bird-shaped whistle, very similar to the Cuckoo of Matera. Traditionally it was given as a game for children or to women as a wedding gift if larger. In addition to the house museum (see below) several street vendors display them in the streets of the center.

• 40.81743616.4130291 "Cola Cola" House Museum, Piazza Benedetto XIII, 24, ☎ 39 3881841197. Mon-Fri 9: 00-18: 30, Sat 9: 00-19: 00, Sun 8: 30-20: 00. A house museum, but also a shop where Cola Cola of all types and sizes are produced and sold. Managed by young people, it will be fun to discover the history and the different sounds of this whistle-gift among the most typical of the city. 

How to have fun

On summer evenings the city center is filled with families and young people who stroll and meet in the squares and clubs.

Where to eat

On Sunday evenings most of the restaurants are closed, even in the summer. Therefore the risk of not being able to easily find a place to eat should be considered.

Moderate prices

• 40.81975516.4157391 San Francesco oven, Larghetto S. Francesco, 4, ☎ 39 080 404 4477. It also sells Apulian cottages. 
• 40.81695616.4176452 Orsini coffee, Viale Orsini, 99. 
• 40.81732916.4182713 Central Gate, Piazza Arcangelo Scacchi, 7, ☎ 39 080 237 1492. Bistro, Restaurant and Pizzeria. 

Average prices

• 40.83099316.3768524 Farmhouse Masseria Sant'Angelo Di Marchetti Giovanni, Contrada Sant'Angelo, ☎ 39 080 326 4255. 

Where stay

Average prices

• 40.81728716.4176231 The Little Prince B&B, Via Matteotti, 45, ☎ 393247944232. 

Safety

The size of the city and the characteristics of the people make Gravina a rather quiet and danger-free city.

• 40.81644516.420993 S. Maria del Piede Hospital, Via S. Domenico, 32, ☎ 39 080 310 8111. 
• 40.82014916.4693484 "Fabio Perinei" Murgia Hospital, State Road 96 to Gravina in Puglia, Km 74,800, ☎ 39 0803108111. 

How to keep in touch

Around

• 40.90402816.4224565 Pulicchio di Gravina (about 10 km north of Gravina in Puglia near the SP 238). It is a karst sinkhole one of the largest karst cavities in Puglia after the Pulo di Altamura. It differs from the latter due to the slight steepness of the walls and the absence of caves. The maximum diameter is 530 meters and a difference in height of 87 meters. The origin of Pulicchio di Gravina is, similarly to Pulo di Altamura, Gurio Lamanna and other sinkholes in the area, which can be explained by karst, i.e. the double action, physical (erosion) and chemical (dissolution), to which the limestones of the Murge have been subjected over the millennia (and continue to be subjected).  

• 40.9088516.4257616 Gurio Lamanna (Gurlamanna) (bordering on Altamura in the immediate vicinity of Pulicchio di Gravina and the grave Tre Paduli). It is a karst form in the shape of a coat of arms located in the Murge plateau. It is "one of the largest Murgian karst cavities". The sinkhole has an external perimeter of over 3 kilometers, an average width of about 900 meters and a maximum height difference of 38 meters. The walls have a slight slope in comparison with the nearby Pulicchio di Gravina. The bottom of the sinkhole is flat "like a board"; such a flat expanse is very rare in the barren, steppe and almost everywhere hilly landscape of the Murge. The origin of the karst basin of Gurio Lamanna can only be karst in nature. The water coming from the relative hydrographic basin has slowly eroded (according to the usual double mechanical and chemical action of karst phenomena) the area, generating the extensive flat area filled with fertile soil that can be seen today.  
• 40.75900616.3816097 Missile field (Former NATO base), Provincial road Fondo Valle Basentello. 

Useful information

• IAT Gravina (Information Office), Piazza Benedetto XIII, ☎ 39 080 3269065, @[email protected]. Mon-Sun 9: 00-13: 00 and 16: 00-20: 00. At the Civic Museum building. Guided tours of the various sites can also be booked. 

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Gravina in Puglia
• Commons contains images or other files on Gravina in Puglia
• Wikinews contains current news on Gravina in Puglia

Usable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).