Altamura (Ialtamùre in the local dialect) is an Italian town of
70 563 inhabitants in the metropolitan city of Bari in Puglia.
Altamura PDO bread, PGI lentils, discovery of Homo neanderthalensis,
dinosaur quarry and cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta are the main
attractions.
For the facts relating to the revolution of
Altamura of 1799 she is nicknamed the lioness of Puglia.
1. Altamura Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta / Duomo di
Altamura)
The undisputed centerpiece of Altamura and one of Puglia’s
finest examples of Romanesque-Gothic architecture, this cathedral
dominates Piazza Duomo in the heart of the historic center. Commissioned
by Frederick II between 1232 and 1254, it was built as one of four
“palatine churches” in Puglia (exempt from local bishops’ jurisdiction,
alongside those in Acquaviva delle Fonti, Bari’s Basilica of San Nicola,
and Monte Sant’Angelo). It was declared a sanctuary and became a major
pilgrimage site.
Key history: The original structure faced west
(altar where the current main gate is now). It partially collapsed in
the 1316 earthquake and was rebuilt with help from craftsmen from nearby
Bitonto (recorded on the “Porta Angioina”). Major 14th–16th-century
changes reversed its orientation, added Gothic elements, a second bell
tower, sacristy, and side chapels. Further 18th-century work included
the clock chamber and statues; the clock tower was completed in 1858.
Extensive modern restorations (2006 and 2017) refreshed the exterior and
interior.
Exterior highlights:
Two asymmetrical bell towers
(right: two tiers; left: three, with a Romanesque base) connected by a
small loggia featuring statues of the Immaculate Virgin, St. Peter, and
St. Paul (added 1729).
The magnificent 14th-century rose window (one
of the most intricate in Puglia) with 15 radiating columns and a central
Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) bas-relief.
The elaborate main portal under a
prothyrum (portico) resting on two stone lions (1533). The lunette shows
the Virgin and Child with angels; the architrave depicts the Last
Supper; 22 sculpted panels illustrate scenes from the life of Christ
(Annunciation to Pentecost). Gothic pointed arches echo nearby Castel
del Monte.
Interior: A three-nave basilica layout with
Byzantine-style capitals (remnants of the Frederick II era). Notable
features include a 1543 wooden choir, 16th-century stone ambon and
pulpit, a Baroque St. Joseph chapel, and a high altar (1736–1793) with
Leonardo Castellano’s 1546 Assumption altarpiece. The first left chapel
houses a rare 1587 polychrome wooden nativity scene (presepe) by
Altobello Persio. The matroneum (women’s gallery) now houses the MUDIMA
Diocesan Museum.
Legends claim Frederick II built it after his army
was miraculously healed here en route to the Crusades, and that a
treasure is hidden in one column. It remains the seat of the Diocese of
Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti.
2. Historic Center
(Centro Storico) and the Claustri
Wandering the labyrinth of narrow
cobblestone streets, arches, and hidden courtyards is one of Altamura’s
greatest pleasures. The compact medieval core, largely unchanged since
Swabian times, features around 80 unique claustri (or gnostre)—enclosed
piazzette or courtyards formed by houses built around a central open
space, often with external staircases, balconies, and arches. These
reflect the multicultural settlement under Frederick II and later
influences (including possible Albanian or Greek elements from later
migrations).
Standout features:
Arco Basso (one of Europe’s
shortest arches) — a tiny, low passageway between alleys, often
decorated at Christmas.
Claustro Inferno and others with layered
architectural details from different eras.
Remnants of Frederick II’s
medieval walls, built atop much older megalithic walls (6th–3rd
centuries BC) from a pre-Roman settlement.
Palaces like Palazzo
Baldassarre (late 16th–early 17th century, now a museum) and Palazzo de
Angelis Viti exemplify noble civil architecture. The area feels lived-in
and authentic, with laundry lines, potted plants, and glimpses into
traditional life.
3. Altamura Man (L’Uomo di Altamura) and
Lamalunga Cave
One of the world’s most significant Neanderthal
discoveries lies just outside town in the Grotta di Lamalunga (a karst
cave system). In 1993, speleologists found an almost complete skeleton
of a ~35-year-old male Neanderthal embedded in a 10-meter-deep sinkhole,
covered in calcite “cave popcorn” formations. The bones remain in situ
to preserve them; only a scapula fragment was removed for analysis.
Significance: Dated 128,000–187,000 years old (one of the oldest
Neanderthal DNA samples sequenced), it shows transitional traits between
Homo heidelbergensis and classic Neanderthals, with an exceptionally
preserved nasal cavity. It offers insights into early Neanderthal
morphology, diet, and Southern European variability.
Exhibits,
replicas, and scientific displays are at Palazzo Baldassarre – Museo
dell’Uomo di Altamura and the National Archaeological Museum of Altamura
(which also holds local prehistoric artifacts). Guided cave visits are
limited due to the fossil’s fragility.
4. Pulo di Altamura
About 6 km northwest of town in the Alta Murgia National Park, this is
one of Italy’s largest and most impressive karst dolines (sinkholes).
Roughly 500–700 meters in diameter and 70–92 meters deep, it formed by
the collapse of underground caves and erosion of limestone by rainwater.
Steep walls hide caves (some with prehistoric habitation evidence,
including Neolithic to medieval artifacts now in the archaeological
museum). A microclimate supports rare flora and fauna, including nesting
ravens.
It’s a scenic natural wonder with marked trails, viewpoints,
and interpretive panels. Locals have known it for centuries; it’s a
highlight for geology, archaeology, and hiking enthusiasts.
5.
Dinosaur Footprints at Contrada Pontrelli (Cava Pontrelli Quarry)
Just outside Altamura lies one of Europe’s richest dinosaur track sites.
In the disused limestone quarry, paleontologists discovered tens of
thousands (estimates exceed 200,000 in some accounts) of footprints from
the Late Cretaceous period (~85 million years ago). Multiple species
left tracks during migrations across what was then a coastal plain. The
site is protected and offers educational value for visitors interested
in paleontology.
Other Notable Sites
National Archaeological
Museum and Civic Museum — house local finds, including from the Pulo and
megalithic tombs.
Chiesa di San Nicola and smaller churches —
complement the cathedral with Baroque and Romanesque details.
Porta
Bari — a surviving medieval gate.
Archaeological evidence
The Altamura area was initially
inhabited by the Peuceti, of which only some archaeological finds of
local or national heritage have been found, due to an illegal
marketing of them, and with consequent loss, testified by authors
and documents of the eighteenth century and of the nineteenth
century.
Domenico Santoro, for example, states that at least
until 1688 there were many funeral urns on the via Tarantina (via
Carpentino) near a spring called "Putida" (which retains this name).
There is no trace of these urns, as reported by scholars Tommaso
Berloco and Elena Silvana Saponaro. This confirms the existence of a
sort of black market during the 19th century, and that the finds
(vases, coins or medallions) were not sufficiently protected. Pietro
Viti also provides detailed information on these findings. Cesare
Orlandi (1770) speaks of archaeological finds both in the vicinity
and within the perimeter of the megalithic walls of Altamura.
The toponyms Petilia and Altilia
There are no historical
documents that indicate with certainty the original name of the city
of Altamura before the year 1000. In the past centuries misleading
information has been handed down which attributed the ancient names
of Petilia and Altilia to Altamura. These hypotheses were defended
by Domenico Santoro (1688) and by the priest D. Vitangelo Frizzale
(1755), while they were later completely rejected by Ottavio Serena
(1880) as unfounded, ergo they are still not confirmed today. The
main reason behind the refutation lies in the absence of reliable
sources, such as names on maps or commercial documents relating to
the early Middle Ages, which attest to one of the aforementioned
toponyms for Altamura.
In the Peutingerian table only the
toponym Sublupatia appears, which assumes the existence of a city
called Lupatia. The toponyms Sublupatia or Lupatia could also be
validly attributed to the city of Altamura. Some scholars have
assumed that there may also have been a Lupatia, being Sublupatia
reported, although the toponym Lupatia is not reported. According to
other scholars, the toponym Sublupatia (or Lupatia) instead refers
to the neighboring city of Santeramo in Colle or to the ancient
settlement of Jesce, which was probably close to the route of the
Via Appia.
The Antonine itinerary, on the other hand, leads
to the SE of Silvium, in addition to Sublupatia, also the station of
Blera, a place "of uncertain identification".
Although the
toponym Lupatia is not mentioned in the two aforementioned
itineraries, the toponym is mentioned by the Anonymous Ravenna
(Byzantine age) and by Guidone in his work Geographica (middle
ages).
During the twentieth century, the scholar Giuseppe
Lugli traced, using the then innovative technique of photogrammetry,
what was probably the route of the Via Appia from Gravina in Puglia
to Taranto. Previously, in fact, only the route that took place on
today's Lazio and Campania was known and studied. Lugli, analyzing
the photogrammetries of the area, noticed the path of a sheep track
called the "Tarantina", whose path bore the signs of a previous
centuriation and which, according to Lugli, was what remained of the
Via Appia (considering that the paths of the ancient Roman arteries
continued to be used throughout the Middle Ages). To confirm this,
there is also the presence of huge archaeological finds in that area
(including the ancient settlement of Jesce).
Analyzing the
distances reported in the Antonine Itinerary, Lugli also assigned
the toponyms Blera and Sublupatia respectively to Murgia Catena and
to Taverna (between Masseria S. Filippo and Masseria S. Pietro).
Nevertheless, the toponym Murgia Catena defined a very large area,
such as not to allow a univocal definition of the station of the Via
Appia. Luciano Piepoli, later, again based on the distances provided
in the Antonine Itinerary and on recent archaeological finds,
proposed to assign the "Santo Staso" area to the toponym Silvium,
close to Gravina in Puglia, to Blera the area of Masseria Castello
and to Sublupatia the area of Masseria Caione.
Petilia
Domenico Santoro (1688) documented, in his work, the attribution
of the toponym Petilia to Altamura on the basis of some testimonies
of Latin authors and translators of his period, which however did
not allow to correctly identify the position of the town. There is
also a quote from the historian Strabo, who called it "placed at the
head of the Lucani". The Greek historian, in his work Geography,
often confuses the Petilia Lucana with the Petelia located in
today's Calabria (perhaps today's Petilia di Policastro, also called
Belcastro, or Strongoli). According to modern scholars, the Petilia
Lucana (the one between the two which was believed to be Altamura)
should be more properly identified with the archaeological finds
found on Monte della Stella.
Ottavio Serena, in his History
of Altamura (which remains unfinished), rejects the toponym Petilia,
and traces in Raffaele Maffei the first author of a certain
authority who hypothesized that Petilia could have been the ancient
name of Altamura, as there are no previous sources that attest the
toponym. The hypothesis on the toponym Petilia was then taken up as
truth by other writers because of the authority that Maffei enjoyed
in his time.
In the Latin translations of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, reference was often made to Altamura in the
notes when speaking of Petilia. In the translation of Claudius
Ptolemy's Geography of that period (translated by Girolamo
Ruscelli), the term Petilia was translated into Italian as "Petilia,
today Altamura" [29], despite the coordinates provided by Ptolemy
pointing unequivocally towards Calabria (thus referring to Petelia
and perhaps to be identified with Petilia di Policastro or
Strongoli), as also Vitangelo Frizzale (1755) pointed out. Leandro
Alberti was the first to refute the hypothesis that Petilia was
Altamura in his Decrittione [sic] of all Italy (1550).
Altilia
The search for mythological origins for a city was very
common in antiquity and in the early Middle Ages and from this would
have originated the legends about the myrmidons and its queen Altea,
founder of the city, called Altilia. According to an ancient legend,
the first settlement was founded with the name of Altilia or Alter
Troia. This legend had a wide fame in the following eras (for
example, the appellative "Altiliensis" was used for illustrious
Altamurans, such as Massimo Santoro Tubito) and is found in Latin
inscriptions and texts.
The inscription on the portal of the
church of San Lorenzo seemed to be the oldest proof of the
historical validity of the legend, since it contained explicit
reference to the myrmidons, whose queen was Altea. Domenico Santoro
(1688) was the first author who alleged the inscription on the
portal in support of the validity of the name Altilia, stating that
the church and the inscription date back to before the year 1000 and
therefore the legend must also have been ancient. Ottavio Serena
refuted Domenico Santoro's observations and postdated the
construction of the church and the inscription by many centuries.
The toponym Altilia appears for the first time in an act dated
1299 where there is the testimony of an eighty-year-old named "Sire
Mundea di Gravina", who claims to have heard from his ancestors that
the city was formerly called Altilia when it was occupied by
Saracens.
In this regard, Ottavio Serena traces the birth of
the legend and the toponym Altilia to the work of some scholar "of
the middle ages" (Early Middle Ages), who, perhaps on the basis of
the archaeological finds found in the area, would have traced the
city to the legendary myrmidons and its legendary queen Altea and
he called it Altilia perhaps referring to the toponym Altamura. To
confirm this, the certificate of 1243 of the foundation of Altamura
states that that land would be called "ab antico" Altamura, that is,
it had already been called Altamura for a long time. Nevertheless
Ottavio Serena seems to recognize a certain validity to the toponym
Altilia, recognizing that there would be no contradiction between
the information of Sire Mundea and the diploma of 1243, the first
referring to a time older than the second.
The local historian Tommaso Berloco (1985) fully accepts the
refutation made by Ottavio Serena for the toponym Petilia, but also
seems to show reservations regarding the toponym Altilia. Tommaso
Berloco praises the critical work of Ottavio Serena, the result of
the new positivist and scientific mentality of the nineteenth
century, but on the question of the toponym Altilia Tommaso Berloco
seems to reproach Ottavio Serena for an "excess of positivism" given
that the toponym Altilia would have some bases 'more solid and may
have been handed down orally through the centuries, although the
narratives of Altea and the Myrmidons are purely legendary and to be
rejected.
In this regard, the court chronicler Pseudo
Jamsilla (1258-1266) in narrating the exploits of Frederick II of
Swabia mentions the cities he founded and, among these, mentions a
certain Alitea, placed by the author in Calabria. Since the author
mentioned Altamura and Altamura was founded by Frederick II of
Swabia, it has been hypothesized that Alitea could refer to the city
of Altamura, or it could be another Calabrian city, such as Altilia.
Murum
From some notarial documents of the city of Gravina
from the early thirteenth century, it is clear that there is a small
town called Murum in the area affected by the current Altamura. This
toponym referred to the city walls (megalithic walls), the ruins of
which are now visible and integrated into the various buildings.
Federico II and the Altamura feudal lords (1232-1799)
Emperor
Frederick II, on his visit in 1232, decided to build a basilica
dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, whose original facade turned
towards Gravina. Frederick II called, to live in the city, people
also from neighboring countries, including Greeks and Jews from the
areas of his kingdom, granting exemptions and special privileges or
the right to cultivate the land and rebuild houses without paying
taxes, dividing the city in four quadrants: Greek, Saracen in the
east and Latin and Hebrew in the west. He assigned the new city a
separate territory separated from the neighboring dioceses, with a
privilege sent to Melfi in September 1232. He conferred the title of
archpriest to Riccardo da Brindisi. Later a bull of Pope Innocent IV
was also issued in Avignon in 1248. Ferdinando Ughelli doubted this
foundation in the seventeenth century, attributing it rather to the
bishop of Gravina between 1300 and 1301. In reality, between the
bishops of Gravina and the archpriests of Altamura there have always
been profound disputes, since the former wanted to exercise
jurisdiction over Altamura, which was instead exempted by Frederick
II. In fact, Clemente V in the bull of 1307 confirmed the union that
King Charles II had already operated, of the archpriesthood of
Altamura with the treasury of the Basilica of San Nicola di Bari.
The church was subsequently destroyed by a fire and the subsequent
reconstruction modified it the position of the facade, which was
facing east.
King Charles I of Anjou in 1271 granted Altamura to Ludovico de
Belloloco (now merged into the Berloco family), and then to the
jurist Sparano da Bari. It was a fiefdom of Errico de Poheriis or de
Poherio and then of the count of Minervino Giacomo Arcuzio of Capri
at the end of the fourteenth century. In 1463, the municipal coat of
arms was surmounted by the crown, at the behest of Emperor Ferdinand
I of Aragon; the city subsequently became a fiefdom of various noble
families, starting with the Orsini Del Balzo and the Farnese
(1538-1734), patrons of numerous palaces and churches. The Orsini
del Balzo family obtained it in 1482. It was granted to Pirro del
Balzo, Duke of Venosa by King Ferdinand on October 16, 1482,
becoming the first Prince of Altamura. In all likelihood, Pirro was
present in Melfi, in the spring of 1485, at the marriage of Troiano
Caracciolo with Ippolita Sanseverino, at what was the first act of
the conspiracy of the barons against the king. In the autumn,
instead of going to Abruzzo to face Giovanni della Rovere, who had
invaded the lands of the Kingdom, he remained in Puglia, where he
took possession of Spinazzola, Genzano, Barletta; but Ferrandino
d'Aragona managed to recover the lost lands and also Acerra against
Pirro. In early September 1486 Pirro formally submitted to the king,
but soon after he was among the barons who swore to continue the
fight against the sovereign. Alfonso II of Aragon then conquered
Venosa and Pirro made the hard decision to submit to Ferrante (18
December 1486). But the barons continued to plot against the
sovereign. Pirro felt strong in his connection with the court (his
daughter Isabella had just married Frederick of Aragon, the king's
brother) and agreed with Roberto Sanseverino, prince of Salerno, for
a decisive plot that would start from Rome. But the lack of
determination prevented him from leaving: Pirro was arrested along
with numerous other barons on 4 July 1487 and locked up in
Castelnuovo di Napoli, from where he never left. All his properties
were confiscated and ended up in the hands of his son-in-law
Frederick of Aragon, who proclaimed himself Prince of Altamura.
Being Isabella (1468-1533), daughter of Pyrrhus, who became the wife
of the king of Naples Federico her, on the death of her father in
1491 she became 3rd princess of Altamura, after her sister Isotta
Ginevra (1460) had already been -1530) before her. In 1506
Ferdinando the Catholic of Trastamara, who took over the king of
Naples during the Wars of Italy, gave it to Onorato Gaetano.
In 1531, after the Spanish conquest of Puglia, the citizens redeemed
its administrative autonomy, paying the sum of 20,000 ducats to the
Spanish Crown. In 1538, reduced to the pavement due to debts, the
city was sold to Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Camerino, son-in-law of
Charles V. It was then marital dowry of Margaret of Austria, and in
this period there was a notable expansion outside of the city walls.
In 1647 Masaniello's insurrection in Naples involved many other
cities of the kingdom in a movement against feudalism; among these
Altamura, which had decisively opposed the attempts of reconquest by
Giangirolamo II Acquaviva d'Aragona, the powerful count of
Conversano. On that occasion, Altamura joined the Neapolitan
Republic and for a short time governed itself. In 1748 Charles VII
of Naples founded a university there: a difficult path of
affirmation, among the first ever in all of Southern Italy.
At the end of the eighteenth century, and for almost all the
nineties, the ancient nobility of Altamura was still very powerful,
both in terms of wealth and for the considerable influence it had at
the court of Naples; The episode of April 1797 is illuminating. The
representatives of the nobles from Altamura, with their requests,
managed to modify the program of the King, then visiting Gravina,
almost forcing him to an unexpected stay in Altamura. For the
occasion, the city was not only richly decorated, but also arranged
in the access and by remaking large stretches of road.
Location and Administrative Context
Coordinates: Approximately
40°49′N 16°33′E (or more precisely around 40.82°N, 16.55°E).
Distance from major centers: About 45 km (28 mi) southwest of Bari,
near the border with Basilicata (Province of Matera).
Municipal
area: 427 km² (165 sq mi), one of the larger comuni in the region.
Neighboring municipalities: Bitonto, Cassano delle Murge, Gravina in
Puglia, Grumo Appula, Matera, Ruvo di Puglia, Santeramo in Colle,
and Toritto.
The city itself sits on one of the plateau’s
hills at an elevation of roughly 450–477 m (1,480–1,565 ft) above
sea level, while the broader municipal territory spans elevations
from about 221 m (minimum in lower areas) to 634 m (maximum on
higher ridges), with an average around 414 m.
Topography and
Geology
Altamura occupies the northwestern portion of the Murge,
a 50 km wide by 150 km long rectangular limestone plateau (oriented
northwest–southeast) that slopes gently toward the Adriatic Sea via
a series of blunt-edged terraces.
Geologically, the area belongs
to the Apulian Platform (or Adriatic Plate), composed primarily of
thick Mesozoic (Cretaceous) carbonate rocks—compact limestones of
the Bari and Altamura formations, deposited in a shallow sea roughly
130–100 million years ago and reaching thicknesses of up to 3,000 m
in places.
This creates a classic karst landscape: rainwater
dissolves the soluble limestone, producing surface and subsurface
features such as:
Sinkholes (doline or puli)
Swallow holes
Caves
Erosional furrows called lamas
Rivers are rare or
absent on the surface because water drains rapidly underground.
The most iconic karst feature is the Pulo di Altamura, located about
6 km northwest of the town (coordinates approx. 40°53′22″N
16°34′05″E). It is the largest doline on the Murge plateau: roughly
450–500 m in diameter (perimeter ~1,800 m), 70–90 m deep, and
classified as a collapse doline enlarged by ongoing karst
dissolution. Steep northern walls drop vertically; rainwater
collects in a vast drainage basin before entering via two main
lamas. The site features caves (e.g., Grotta del Colombo, Grotta
dell’Imbroglio, Grotta dell’Orco) and a unique microclimate
supporting specialized flora and fauna, including the common raven.
Other notable geological highlights in or near Altamura include:
Grotta di Lamalunga (Lamalunga Cave): Site of the famous
“Altamura Man,” a remarkably well-preserved Neanderthal skeleton
dating to ~150,000 years ago.
Pontrelli Quarry (Cava dei
Dinosauri): One of Europe’s largest dinosaur track sites, with
~30,000 footprints from the early Campanian stage (~80 million years
ago).
Much of this terrain—12,660 hectares (about 31,300
acres) of Altamura’s territory—falls within the Alta Murgia National
Park (established 2004, recently designated a UNESCO Global Geopark
in 2024). The park protects the high Murge’s rocky pastures,
steppe-like grasslands, dolines, and archaeological heritage across
13 municipalities.
The landscape is gently undulating with rocky
outcrops, dry grasslands, and scattered oak/evergreen patches to the
north, transitioning to more agricultural plains.
Climate
Altamura experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa,
sometimes noted as Cfa in local classifications due to inland
influences). It is warmer and drier than coastal Apulia but retains
the classic seasonal pattern.
Annual average temperature: 14.8 °C
(58.7 °F), with a yearly fluctuation of about 19.1 °C.
Summers
(Jun–Sep): Hot and dry; July/August highs average 30–31 °C (86–88
°F), with July as the driest month (~23 mm precipitation).
Winters (Dec–Feb): Mild; January averages ~6 °C, with lows around
2–3 °C and occasional frost.
Annual precipitation: ~593 mm (23.3
in), concentrated in autumn/winter (wettest month: November ~68 mm).
Even the driest months see some rain.
The plateau’s elevation
moderates coastal humidity, producing clearer skies and slightly
more continental temperature swings inland.
Hydrology,
Vegetation, and Land Use
Karst hydrology dominates: surface water
is scarce, absorbed quickly into the limestone aquifer. Lamas
(seasonal erosional channels) channel runoff into dolines like the
Pulo.
Vegetation reflects the semi-arid, rocky steppe
environment—historically one of Italy’s last wild steppe landscapes.
Vast expanses of dry grasslands and rocky pastures support wild
orchids and grazing (sheep/goats). Agricultural zones feature
cereals (wheat), olives, almonds, and vineyards; the famous “Pane di
Altamura” bread comes from local durum wheat.
Forests are limited
but include the Mercadante woodland (shared with Cassano delle
Murge). The area’s biodiversity is protected within the national
park.