889 



BARI. 



town is well built. The cathedral, a fine Lombardian structure, has 

 a beautifully-decorated and well-lighted interior, and is surmounted 

 by one of the tallest steeples in Italy. Trani has a handsome theatre, 

 and reckons among its curiosities nine ancient mile-stones. The neigh- 

 bourhood is famous for its figs and sweet wine. The fig-trees are 

 grown in rows in the fields as espaliers, and their fruit is dried upon 

 conical huts or towers called ' specchie,' which form a curious feature 

 in the scenery of several parts of the province. Trani is the seat' of 

 one of the four great civil courts of appeal (Gran Corti Civili) of 

 the kingdom ; this court has jurisdiction over the Terra di Bari and 

 the Terra d'Otranto. 



Totem of the Interior. -ALTAJIURA. Andria, an episcopal city of 

 16,000 inhabitants, is situated in a beautiful plain 33 miles W.N.W. 

 from Bari and 10 miles S.W. from Trani. It has a handsome cathedral 

 and a college. Isabella of England, third wife of the emperor 

 Frederick II., is buried in the cathedral. Andria is the birthplace of 

 Conrad, Frederick's son by his second wife. 



JJitouto, the ancient Butuntum, 12 miles W. by S. from Bari, is an 

 episcopal town with a splendid cathedral, several other churches, 

 two monasteries, an hospital, an ecclesiastical seminary, and a popu- 

 lation of !.'>, 000. A delicious wine called zagarello is made near the 

 town. In its vicinity the Spaniards defeated the Imperialists May 25, 

 1736. The see of Bitanto is united to that of Ruvo. To the south of 

 Bitanto are the towns Moduyno, population 5500 ; and Bltetto, situated 

 at the western extremity of the plain of Bari among plantations of 

 almond and olive-trees, population 5000. 



Cannxn, 45 miles W. from Bari and within 3 miles of the bridge 

 over the Ofanto on the road to Foggia, is a well-built town of 8000 

 inhabitants, situated on the slopes of a hill which is crowned with 

 the remains of a feudal castle. The cathedral of San Sabino is the 

 principal building : in a court adjoining it is a decagonal building with 

 bronze doors containing the tomb of Boheraond, prince of Antioch, 

 one of the heroes of Tasso. Canosa occupies part of the site of the 

 ancient Canuaium, the citadel of which was upon the hill while the 

 city itself extended round it in the plain. Canusium was most pro- 

 bably a Pelasgian city, but its foundation is also ascribed to Diomede. 

 It sided with the Samnites in their wars with the Romans, but was 

 obliged to submit to the consul Lucius Plautius (B.C. 318). After the 

 defeat of Cannae the Roman army fled to Canusium. In the Social 

 War the city revolted from Rome, and its territory was ravaged in 

 consequence. Near it Sulla defeated Norbanus (B.C. 83). Canusium 

 maintained its municipal existence under the empire, and continued 

 to be a place of importance till the middle ages. Among the ancient 

 remains of the city are parts of an aqueduct constructed by Herodes 

 Atticus to supply the town with water, an amphitheatre, an ancient 

 gateway, and a subterranean necropolis, the contents of which are 

 now in the Museum of Naples. About 6 miles north of Canosa, and 

 at a little distance from the right bank of the Vergellus, a feeder of 

 the Aufidus, are the ruins of Cannce, which gave name to the plain 

 w.itered by the Aufidus and to the terrible battle in which Hannibal 

 defeated the Romans (Aug. 2nd, B. c. 216). In 1019 the Apulians, 

 commanded by a Norman chief, were signally defeated by the Impe- 

 rialists under the Katapan Bolanus in the Plain of Canute. The ancient 

 city was totally destroyed in 1083 by Robert Guiscard, and its site has 

 never been re-occupied. 



Cvnrtrta.no, an episcopal city of 9000 inhabitants, is situated 17 

 miles S.E. from Bari, on a hill in a very fertile district producing corn, 

 wine, oil, almonds, flax, &c. It was formerly the chief town during 

 the government of the Normans, whose castle and old walls still defend 

 it. The principal buildings are the cathedral, the diocesan seminary, 

 the hospital, the Benedictine and some other monasteries. 



faano, a wealthy town of 10,000 inhabitants, many of whom are 

 opulent proprietors, is situated near the frontier of the Terra d'Otranto, 

 on the high road from Bari to Brindisi, 33 miles S.E. from Bari. The 

 district of Fasano abounds in olive plantations ; there are many oil- 

 presses in the town and neighbourhood. 



Ginia, 26 miles S. from Bari, is situated on the crest of the eastern 

 branch of the Apennines, on the road from Bari to Taranto, and has 

 1 1 inhabitants. The neighbourhood was formerly covered with 

 woods which Frederick II. inclosed for a park. 



Gravina, 37 miles S.W. from Bari, on the southern slope and near 

 the base of the eastern branch of the Apennines, is an important epis- 

 copal city, built on a hill above the left bank of the Gravina, a feeder 

 of the Bradano, with a population of 11,000. It is surrounded by 

 walls flanked with towers. The town is dirty, though it is supplied 

 with numerous fountains. The castle was in the middle ages one of 

 the strongholds of the Orsini, to which family the town and neighbour- 

 hood still belong. There are a cathedral and five other churches, a 

 ", and several convents in the town. The country round about 

 Gravina is celebrated for its pastures and its breed of horses. A great 

 cattle fair is held here annually on the 20th of April. The tufa in 

 the vicinity contains nitre, which is collected and purified in the town. 

 Many of the common people live in apartments excavated in the tufa. 

 Several roads intersect at Gravina. 



.'/'. ., n, a picturesque town with a population of 8000, is situated 

 at the foot of some nak-<! ofrnlinotH of the Eastern \ |":miim'.4 called 

 Murgie An Minervino, 45 miles W. by 8. from Bari. It is surrounded 

 by maisive walla strengthened by towers, and is further defended 



BARI. 890 



by a castle. Noja, population 6000, and Putignano, population 8000, 

 are small towns, the former 9 miles the latter 26 miles S.E. from Bari. 



Ruvo, an episcopal city situated on the Appian Way, 23 miles W. 

 from Bari, has a population of 8800. The town is surrounded by 

 walls. The principal buildings are the cathedral, four monasteries, 

 the diocesan seminary, and an orphan asylum. The town occupies the 

 site of the ancient Xubi, which was destroyed by the Goths. There 

 is a museum of antiquities in the town, in which are several vases 

 and other ancient relics found near the town. The district of Ruvo 

 has been always famous for its corn : the coins of the ancient city 

 were impressed with an ear of wheat. 



Tcrlizzi, 3 miles E. from Ruvo, is a neat and flourishing town with 

 a population of 13,000. It is built on a platform above the plain 

 which is covered with almond-groves. The town is well built, and 

 contains two churches, three convents, an hospital, a mendicity house, 

 and a picture gallery. 



The Terra di Bari formed the southern part of Apulia, and was 

 distinguished by the name of Apulia Peucetia. The Appian Road 

 from Rome to Brundusium traversed its whole length, and along the 

 coast ran the Egnatiau Way, which in part coincided with the former. 



The province is governed by an Intendente, or viceroy, appointed 

 by the king for three years. The viceroy has charge of the entire 

 administration of the province, civil, military, and financial. He is 

 assisted by a secretary and council. The province is divided into two 

 first-class districts, Altamura and Barletta, each of which is in charge 

 of a Sottintendente, or lieutenant governor, who is also appointed by 

 the king. The province is subdivided into 37 comuni, or communes, 

 each governed by a corporation consisting of a Syndaco (mayor), two 

 Eletti (aldermen), and a Decuriouato (common council). This com- 

 munal government is the remains of the Roman municipal system, 

 and has survived all dynastic change* in South Italy. 



(Craven's Tow through Naples; Serristori, Saggio Statistico ; 

 Blewitt's Handbook of South Italy.) 



BA'RI, the capital of the province of Bari above noticed, is situated 

 on a peninsular slip of land in 41 8' N. lat., 16 54' E. long., at a 

 distance of 145 miles E. by N. from Naples, 75 miles N.W. from 

 Briudisi, and has a population of 21,400. It occupies the site of the 

 ancient Barium, a fishing-town on the Appian Road celebrated by 

 Horace. It had some connection with the early Greek colonies in 

 South Italy, as its coins attest. 



Greek coin of Barium. 

 British Museum. Copper. Actual si/e. Weight, 8 1 grains. 



The city consists of two parts the old town, which is the larger 

 portion, and the new town. It has several good streets, but many 

 more are old, narrow, and gloomy. A convenient harbour is formed 

 by two moles. The town has considerable commercial activity ; its 

 trade with Trieste and the Dalmatian coast in corn, oil, wine, almonds. 

 and seeds is extensive. Strong walls surround the town, which is 

 further defended by an old castle, a massive Norman structure, which 

 is nearly a mile in circuit, and strengthened by five bastions. Of its 

 two towe-s only one remains entire, which is used as a telegraph 

 station. The principal ecclesiastical structures are the priory of San 

 Nicola and the cathedral of San Sabino. The priory, a magnificent 

 structure in the Lombard style, was founded in 1087 to receive the 

 remains of St. Nicholas, which were brought here from Myra in 

 Lycia, and are deposited in a splendid crypt built in the Saracenic 

 style. The building was largely endowed by Robert and Roger 

 Guiscard. Roger II. was crowned king of Sicily in this church in the 

 year 1130 : his coronation chair is preserved. Among the sepulchral 

 monuments in the church the principal is that erected to Bona Sforza, 

 queen of Poland ; a large black marble sarcophagus supports an 

 effigy of the queen ill white marble in the attitude of prayer. The 

 ceiling of the church is painted in fresco, and the grand altar is deco- 

 rated with silver bas-reliefs representing the history of St. Nicholas. 

 The cathedral of San Sabino (originally a fine gothic building) has 

 been spoiled by modern repairs and alterations. It is surmounted by 

 a lofty tower resembling the famous campanile of Seville, and under- 

 neath the church there is a handsome crypt. In the courtyard of 

 the bishop's palace is a statue of San Sabino standing on a granite 

 column. Bari has a college or lyceum which confers academical 

 degrees, a theatre, and a casino. The vicinity of the town abounds 

 with vast olive and almond plantations. 



Bari seems to have been a place of little importance in Roman 

 times. In the time of Charlemagne it was the principal stronghold 

 of the Saracens on the Adriatic. It was taken in 871 by Louis II., 

 Charlemagne's great-grandson, after a four years' siego. In the 10th 

 century it full into the hands of the Greek emperors, who made it the 

 capital of Apulia and the residence of the Katapan, or governor, of 

 all the territories they held in Italy. It remained faithful to the 



