The cathedral, ordered by Frederick II of Swabia around 1245, was the palatine chapel with privileges of exemption from episcopal jurisdiction and subject only to the emperor and the pontiff. Remodelled several times over the centuries, it boasts a façade rich in sculptures referring to the rebuilding of the temple by Angioini in 1316. Worthy of note is the grandiose portal with its richly ornate sculptured lunette, architrave, door posts, and archivolt, further decorated with two vigorous stylised lions created in 1534 by Antonio di Andria. The façade is framed by two sturdy bell towers with 18th-century Baroque spires. The church has a three-nave basilica floor plan, austere galleries for once reserved for women and rich decorations in polychrome marble from Calabria, stuccoes and gilding from the 19th century. There are also large 19th-century paintings by important artist of the Neapolitan and Apulo-Neapolitan schools, like Domenico Morelli and Francesco Netti, as well as precious sculptured furnishings from the 16th century, like the pulpit and the large nativity in polychrome stone.
A Brief History:
The city of Altamura, which was completely destroyed by the Saracens, was entirely rebuilt by Frederick II around 1230. When asked by Pope Gregory IX, Frederick II agreed to the building of the cathedral, but never saw it completed as the works continued well into the 14th century. The building was mostly reconstructed following the 1316 earthquake and was again remodelled in 1534, when its orientation was inverted by moving the rose window and the portal into the apsidal part.
Sources: By the editorial staff Updated on: 30/06/2010
Project created in collaboration with InnovaPuglia.
Regione Puglia
Regione Puglia