TOUR ITINERARIES
Discoveryng The Castles Of Puglia
Lenght: 192 km - page 2 of 2

MONOPOLI

 Driving for 35 minutes along the numb. 16 highway for 46 km you get to Monopoli, a town on the Adriantic sea, at the foot of the Murgia area. This is an important fishing site with 47.000 inhabitants and it has a trapezoidal plan. Monopoli borders with the territories of Castellana Grotte, Fasano, Polignano a Mare and Conversano.

According to the tradition, Monopoli was already inhabited during the Paleolithic Age (it is witnessed by the presence of some historic sites, like Grotta delle Mura).It was founded by Minosse, king of Crete, from which the name of the city comes.This city was built on an ancient apulean site (it is witnessed by the finding of some graves in the urban area) and it probably was repopulated in the Middle Age by the inhabitants of Egnazia, that had been destroyed.. The old town centre clinges over the sea and it is fastened by Aragonese walls. It has medieval origins, as you can see looking at the urban and social structure and at the ancient houses facing the dock.
In this contest you then see the Frederick Castle,built at time of the Aragonese domination.It is settled on a headland called Punta Penna, near the dock, over the remainings of an ancient church, S.Nicola de Pinna, of a basilian cenoby and of a tower that may be dated back to Roman times. It represents one of the most important monuments in Puglia from the age of Federico II .

CONVERSANO

Leaving back Monopoli, we go to the close town of Conversano, that is settled over a hill on the south–east of the Murgia area. This is an artistic and industrial, craftsman and agroindustrial town and it was founded by the Peucetians, an ancient population of Puglia.In ancient times it was called Norba.

After the fall of the Roman Empire,
in the III century, the town was occupied by the Gotes and the Vandals.
It has a rich and precious archaeologic estate and it is one of the biggest and most ancient Peucetian centres. Its ancient megalithic walls still represent one of the most peculiar elements of the old town, that developed around the castle, built by the Normans in the XI century and then embellished with other archietectonic elements by Svevians and Angevins. Besides the castle, you can also visit many churches and convents with their art works and the Municipal Picture-Gallery.It was known with the name Cupersanum in the Late Middle Age and some years later it was contested by the Byzantines and the Lombards that, in the VII cent., fortified it. The castles are definitely the main turistic attraction of the town.The Norman castle, near the municipal park, is a great complex which, after some time, became a luxury dwelling, thanks to many juxtaposition that took place between the end of ’400 and ‘600.This is a stately model of Norman architecture from the XII-XIII cent.Of its original building it only remains a squared tower. Another tower, with a circular shape, was built in the XIV century. In the XV cent. then, they built a polygonal bastion. Other changes took place between the XV and XVII century, so the castle became a county residence.The entrance hall, the walls and the court gallery date back to the XVIII century. Another wonderful building, that in ancient times was the summer dwelling of the Earl Giulio IV d’Acquaviva, is Marchione Castle, built in the XVIII cent. by the d’Acquaviva d’Aragona Earls.

GIOIA DEL COLLE

The last stop of our itinerary is Gioia del Colle, a nice town 38 km away from Bari. This is an important agricultural site of the Murgia area, and it is popular because of its production of mozzarella cheese, that is famous all over the nation.

Some archaeologic information tell us that people lived here in prehistoric times and that it was called “Joha”. It developed around an ancient castle- shelter that later became a fortified complex. This is, together with the production of cheese, the other thing for which Gioia del Colle is known. This castle has Norman origins and it was built in the end of the year 1000, then it was enlarged by Federico II when he was back from the Crusade in 1230. It has a trapezoidal plan and, in the middle, there is a yard and two towers. Inside, in a part of the castle, now there is the National Archaeologic Museum. It was founded with the aim of let people know uses, furniture and dwellings of the Apulians; like the place they found during Monte Sannace excavations, like the V cent. b.C. funeral sets and other everyday life objects from Hellenistic time.In the wide tettitory of Gioia del Colle you can also see Neolithic settlements and towns. The dolmen site of Masseria del Porto is very important because they found some objects belonging to the subappenninic dolmen culture from the XIII to the IV cent. b.C.

Texts: Italiainrete - Pictures: Database and web

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