Cattedrale di San Nicola Pellegrino (source: Visual Puglia )
The cathedral stands out for being a double church, a solution that was chosen after finding the relics of Saint Nicholas the Pilgrim, stored in the crypt of the church. On that occasion, instead of connecting the room to the new aisles, it was decided to open an under-body in front of it, as wide as the nave, that was divided by colonnades to give the building the appearance of a basilica. The upper church, completed in the thirteenth century, is also laid out like a basilica: it is divided into one nave and two aisles, with a high transept and semicircular apses, so slender they make it look like a Nordic building. The interior is divided into twin pillars that hold cross vaults in the aisles and wooden trusses in the nave, where the women’s galleries open up, architectural solutions that had already been adopted in the late XII century in the Ill de France and some crusade buildings in the Holy Land. The façade, in the Pisan style, boasts a rose window, surrounded by protruding animals, and the plastic decoration of the portal.
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Imperial Puglia indicates the geographical area including the municipalities of Andria, Barletta, Bisceglie, Canosa di Puglia, Corato, Margherita di Savoia, Minervino Murge, San Ferdinando di Puglia, Spinazzola, Trani, Trinitapoli and is located between the provinces of Foggia and Bari. The project called “Puglia imperiale” stems from the need for promoting the history of those eleven municipalities and unite them under the auspices of the impressive Castel del Monte, which was awarded the status of heritage of mankind by UNESCO and acknowledged as the expression of the creative genius of Frederick II, who lived in this land for long periods. One can either cross this territory along the coast exceeding 40 km or over the Murge plateau, which reaches 600 metres above the sea level, up to the Adriatic sea, but the feeling remains of going through its very ancient history rich in tokens, cathedrals, castles and a wonderful countryside.
Colossus - Barletta
Follow Frederick II’s steps among charming medieval villages and castles. However, the history of this land dates back to a more distant past. The megalithic underground structures of Trinitapoli and San Ferdinando, or the dolmens of Bisceglie and Corato are tokens of archaic civilisations and Canosa, the main city of the region during the Imperial age, maintains the beauty of a glorious past which can be still be traced today
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Civilisation developed along the only river of Puglia. The first tokens date back to the bronze age, followed by the archaic Greek and Latin settlements, until the Romanesque period. The presence of Frederick II is witnessed everywhere, and in the 16th century Barletta saw the emergence of national pride through the victory over the French knights during the famous "challenge"
Barletta, Trani, Bisceglie were important landing sites during the journey to the Holy Land and still host ancient towers to monitor a rich a fruitful coast. The coast of Imperial Puglia exceeds 40 km in length and is characterised by very interesting swamps in terms of the passage of dozens of thousands of migrating birds spending the Winter near the famous Salt works of Margherita di Savoia
Project created in collaboration with InnovaPuglia.
Regione Puglia
Regione Puglia