HISTORICAL OUTLINES 
Welcome to Conversano one of the most ancient city in the area of Bari . Its history is so fascinating that you will love it! The origins of Conversano are related to the VIII-VI century B.C. , when it was occupied by Japigi and Peucetiis. Maybe in this period the city was called Norba, which means “city surrounded by defensive walls”. We can still see now the remains of the Megalithic walls near the monastery of S. Benedetto.
Lately, Conversano and Apulia as well, were conquered by the Roman Empire. Norba was going to disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire, because it was destroyed by the barbarian invasions. After centuries of silence, Conversano appeared again in our history and in the first years of the Middle Age, it was rising up again.
During the Middle Age Conversano was named “Casale Cupersani”, entering a phase of growth and development when it was dominated by the Normans. “Goffredo il Guiscardo” was the first earl who governed the earldom of Conversano, here he allowed the creation of the most important medieval buildings:
1. the main tower
2. few other buildings of the castle
3. the Cathedral
4. S. Benedetto’s nunnery/monastery
Welcome to Conversano one of the most ancient city in the area of Bari . Its history is so fascinating that you will love it! The origins of Conversano are related to the VIII-VI century B.C. , when it was occupied by Japigi and Peucetiis. Maybe in this period the city was called Norba, which means “city surrounded by defensive walls”. We can still see now the remains of the Megalithic walls near the monastery of S. Benedetto.
Lately, Conversano and Apulia as well, were conquered by the Roman Empire. Norba was going to disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire, because it was destroyed by the barbarian invasions. After centuries of silence, Conversano appeared again in our history and in the first years of the Middle Age, it was rising up again.
During the Middle Age Conversano was named “Casale Cupersani”, entering a phase of growth and development when it was dominated by the Normans. “Goffredo il Guiscardo” was the first earl who governed the earldom of Conversano, here he allowed the creation of the most important medieval buildings:
1. the main tower
2. few other buildings of the castle
3. the Cathedral
4. S. Benedetto’s nunnery/monastery
In the following four centuries C. was dominated by Swabian and Anjou until 1456, when the earldom of C. was taken by the family Acquaviva, thanks to the marriage between Caterina O. del B. (daughter of the Prince Giovanni Orsini del B., earl of Taranto) and Giulio Antonio the first, earl of Atri and Teramo, a brave soldier who died in the battle of Otranto beheaded by a Muslim’s sword. In the following centuries the Acquaviva family received the honorary title of “D’Aragona” by the Spanish royal family and governed the earldom of C. four centuries. One of the most famous earl was Giangirolamo the second, called the squinter (he didn’t see from one eye)known for his bravery, merciless behaviour, but also for his cultural wit Indeed he turned C. into the centre of culture and art and promoted the development of architecture and urban building, endowing the town with monasteries, churches, and purchasing some of the greatest pictures of the XVI cent to the famous napoleon artist Paolo Finoglio (such as the pictures inspired to the poem “Gerusalemme Liberata” by Torquato Tasso and the decorations and the pictures of the S.Cosma and Damiano Church).
The last earl of C. was Giangirolamo the fifth who was stripped by the earldom in the first years of the XIX cent. when Giuseppe Bonaparte made a law that banned the feudal power.
The XX cent. in C. began with a new wave of expansion and growth. Today, C. is a town full of potential, where tradition and development go hand in hand.
LEGENDS ABOUT GIANGIROLAMO II THE SQUINTER
IUS PRIMAE NOCTIS: In his earldom the squinter used to practice the right to spend the first night of marriage with the newly wed-bride. Whether she refused to yield to the earl or did not satisfied his desires, she was condemned to be thrown into the well of the main tower. This is why everybody called the first sons of C. “sons of the earl”.
THE RED EARTH/LAND: The squinter used to play archery and he enjoyed himself trying to hit with his arrows the jars of the women who drew the water from the wells. Anyway it was supposed he didn’t see from one eye and instead of the jars, he hit the women whose blood turned the earth red. That’s why that place is called “red earth”.
PRIEST OF NARDO’: during his government, Giangirolamo faced different rebellions, one of the most famous is that of the noble men and the priests of Nardò. The earl promised to forgive all the rebels if they surrendered to his troops, but as they did it he imprisoned them all and tortured, beheaded and skinned the priests, whose bodies were exposed to the population in the street “Strettola delle Forche” and whose skin was used to make the chairs of the castle.
MARCHIONE
The building had not a defensive function but it was just the hunting house of the Acquaviva family, earls of Conversano, who sometimes went there to spend their spare time by hunting. On the whole, the building has the features of the Baroque style of the XVIII cent.. In that time the building was surrounded by 1260 hectares of thick wood of oaks, while at the present, the property has a reduced extension of almond and cherry trees. The owner of this property is the duchess Franca Filomarino, the last descendant of Acquaviva d’Aragona family.
It seems that the name “Marchione” rises from a correction of the old name of the district “Macchione”. Giulio Antonio III allowed the building of the cottage, after getting the fief in 1710. Acquaviva d’Arag. family governed Conversano till 1810, the year in which the decree abolishing feudalism was issued.
In a background in which feudalism was decaying and in particular, in southern Italy, the building of Marchione focuses on this problematic period of the history and, above all, showed, once again, the influence and the prestige of Acquaviva d’Arag. family.
Marchione is, completely, built up with limestone. It has a square plan and it’s built on 3 levels:
• the ground floor corresponding to the old stables
• the mezzanine floor for the guests
• the first floor, where there is the noble apartment.
The main façade is characterized by the impressive staircases which lead to the fist floor passing from 2 flights of stairs; the windows are decorated with small pillars and a rich lodge. Directed to South-west and North-east, the side façades have the same windows of the main front, even though they are lower.
The main problem about Marchione is the date of its building and architect. Pietro Gioia maintains that the building can be dated back to the reign of Giulio Antonio Acquaviva d’Arag., husband of Maria Teresa Spinelli Tarsia, princes of Naples. Starting from Gioia’s studies, Giovanni Simone maintains that Marchione was built between 1730-1740, when Giulio Antonio III was the earl of Conversano. Other experts found out a “document under the seal of a notary public” (atto notarile) of 1721 testing that the building was dated back to a period before 1721. Agreeing this fact, the hypothesis 1730-1740 falls down, since that document was drawn up between Giulio Antonio and the ones who built Marchione and proves its existence already in 1721. The document dealt with:
• the building of the courtyard, the old consignment, the kitchen and other rooms (1st act)
• the building of the walls and the portal (2nd act)
What about the problem of the architect, some experts think that the earl Giulio Antonio could have known Luigi Vanvitelli, one of the greatest architect in Naples, lived between 1700-1773. He is thought to be the “author” of the wonderful drawing of Marchione. Vinaccia maintained that Vincenzo Ruffo, a pupil of Vanvitelli built up the cottage. However, these 2 hypothesis are both refuted:
• the building cannot be a work by Vanvitelli as it is impossible that he had already planned the drawing when he was just 20
• it cannot be neither a work by Ruffo as he was born in 1749, 30 years after the building of Marchione.
Anyway, the historical sources let the problem of the date unsolved.
First noble floor: it is possible only to visit the central hall, because the other rooms are private. On the ceiling there is a beautiful painting of the coat of arms of the family Acquaviva and Filomarino, dated back to the age of Giangirolamo II’s government. It means that this cottage was also used by “the Squinter”, who is represented on a painting on the right wall of the room in good physical shape. His vigorous look without the ill eye, has led many historical critics to say that the count himself invented this kind of nickname, just to avoid the accuse of royal betrayal.
Surroundings: inside the ortus conclusus (the space surrounded by walls), there’s an ancient wood oven, a cistern and a neoclassical consecrated church. Outside the walls there is another cistern and a little tower, once used to keep and train pigeons, hawks and doves.
MEDIEVAL TOUR
(CASTLE, CATHEDRAL, S. BENEDETTO)
This is a short itinerary, full of historical references, architectural and artistic places, constantly recalling places of power, prayer and work. Visitors are first taken through the heart of the town: the castle, the cathedral and S. Benedetto. Symbol of Conversano is the castle, with its history and legends, tradition and culture (telling about the castle, then the other 2 buildings).
BAROQUE TOUR
(SS. COSMA AND DAMIANO, CARMINE, ISOLA, MARCHIONE)
In the first half of the 17th cent., Conversano became a little “capital”, attracting artists, men of letters and poets. (telling about S. Cosma). During the baroque tour visitors can admire The Church “Madonna del Carmine”, built according to the wishes of Isabella Filomarino in the XVII cent. (telling about Carmine). If one wishes to continue the tour there’s an excursion to the convent of Santa Maria dell’Isola (telling about it) and the cottage/hunting house of Marchione.
THE CHURCH OF S. CATERINA
The church of S. Caterina is 1 Km far from Conversano. It’s a small temple dedicated to S. Caterina from Alessandria. The church is situated on the old road linking Conversano to the little harbour of S. Vito in Polignano. In the VIII cent. S. Caterina was already known, but only in the half of the XI cent. there are proofs of the saint’s worship/adoration.
There are two hypothesis on the period of its building; according to the first, the church was built up on the half of the XI cent., probably, as a “case” of the saint’s relics or as remembrance of a pilgrim to the holy places. The second hypothesis could be related to the earl Giulio Antonio I Acquviava d’Aragona, who allowed the building of the church after 1456 as a tribute for his wife, Caterina Orsini del Balzo.
What about S. Caterina, it must be said that she lived in the IV cent. a.C. and her life is a mystery. She is said to belong to a royal family, to be a very cultivated woman, particularly interested in philosophy. She was convicted to be starving but she was fed by a dove; then, she was laid under a wheel full of prickles and didn’t die. At the end, she died beheaded and from her neck didn’t come out blood but white milk. The legend goes on telling that her body was brought by angels to Sinai mount, where a monastery dedicated to the saint was built up.
The iconography represents S. Caterina with the royal crown on her head, the book, symbol of her knowledge and the wheel full of prickles, symbol of her martyrdom.
During the centuries the church was subjected to different changes:
• In 1690 during a pestilence, the church turned into a receptacle of bodies;
• In 1910, the bishop Antonio Lamberti emptied out the church of all the bones;
• In 1935, the restoration started and today, the cultural club “Donna Club” looks after the chapel maintenance.
From the artistic point of view, the church has been influenced by oriental inspiration even if it sets in the Romanesque art of Apulia (high Middle Age). The church is an example of Byzantine architecture and it has a four-leaf clover shape, that is made up of 4 semicircles, which can be all inscribed in a circle with a radius twice as much that of the semicircles.
The church is built up with squared big limestone stones.
S. MARIA DELL’ISOLA
The church and the nunnery dedicated to the “Virgin of the island” are situated 1 Km far from Conversano and that’s the reason why it is called like that.
The building of the church is related to a miracle operated, in 1462, by the Virgin. She appeared in the dream of a girl from Conversano, leading her to come to this place and to thread a knife into the ground. Even though the knife, going into the ground, found rocks, it didn’t break. Getting surprised at the event, the girl came back to the city telling about it. The bishop, Pietro de Migolla (1448-1468) blessed the cave found out during the excavation. A legend about the cave tells that the castle of Conversano and the nunnery could be linked by a secret passage used by the earls when they were in danger.
However, an historian maintains that the worship/adoration of the Virgin was previous the XV cent.; in fact, in the cave were found out:
• A painting representing the Virgin with the Baby;
• A statue of the Virgin (today disappeared)
• An altar
• Some paintings of the XIII cent.
What about the date of its building, it could be dated back to the XIII-XIV cent., so that the earl Giulio Antonio would have just enlarged the pre-existent structure and built up the church and the big cloister. During the earldom of Giulio Antonio the church was made up of a nave and was rich in paintings as the religious order of Franciscans wanted. Acquaviva family was so strongly close to Franciscans that Giulio Antonio entrusted to them the nunnery.
The building of the big cloister is linked to the earl’s death (Giulio Antonio Acquviva) in 1481 in Otranto. In obedience to Andrea Matteo’s will, the church, private chapel, turned into the “funeral” chapel of Acquaviva d’Aragona family, in order to celebrate his father, founder of the nunnery. The works came to an end in 1525 by building a mausoleum (the empty tomb of Giulio Antonio).
In 1530 a new nave was added and that date was engraved in the keystone in the span on the left. In the same year there was a break of the works because of historical events:
• After succeeding to his father, Andrea Matteo got the opportunity of vaulting of the name “d’Aragona” . However, because of his character he was deprived of the earldom of Conversano;
• The French-Spanish war which damaged the reign;
• Epidemics plague, one in 1528 and the other between 1530-1532.
In 1618 the works started again in obedience to the will of Giangirolamo II Acquaviva d’Aragona, who allowed the building of the altars. Between 1727-1737 the nunnery was enlarged, after it was linked to the city by building the actual road. From then on, the slow decay of the church and the nunnery started and went on till 1866 when the building became private.
DECORATION AND PAINTINGS
The first pictorial phase started in 1462 with the painting of “The Trinity, S. James and the Virgin on the throne with the Divine Infant”: in this painting you can notice a character, knelt down, who is praying. He could be Giangirolamo II, as proof of his active presence in the building of the church.
In obedience to Giangirolamo’s will a sculptor from Galatina, Nuzzo Barba, made different works:
• The temple of the Virgin
• The small stone pulpit, hold up by an angel. In the middle of it there is a shield on which the coat-of-arms of Acquaviva family is represented. The pulpit was built up in 1479 when the family got the privilege of adding to their coat of arms that of Aragonas;
• The last work by Nuzzo Barba was the mausoleum of Giulio Antonio and his wife, completed by the statues of Andrea Matteo and Isabella Piccolomini. Both the earls wanted the building of that monument.
THE BIG CLOISTER
It was built to celebrate Giulio Antonio’s death in Otranto. On 3 sides it is decorated with 22 scenes representing the story of S. Joseph the Jewish. The cloister is dated back to the XV cent. and the decoration to the XVII cent. On the bottom of the west side the story of the religious order of Franciscans is represented.
THE CHURCH OF SS. MEDICI COSMA AND DAMIANO
Starting from 1636, the old church of S. Matteo was transformed by order of the earl Giangirolamo II Acquaviva d’Aragona and his wife Isabella Filomarino, both devoted to Saints Cosma and Damiano. The project was entrusted to the painter of the court Paolo Finoglio who painted the ceiling and the pictures of the sides chapels. In 1912 the bishop Lamberti entrusted the church and the convent to the nuns Crocifisse Adoratrici. The church is Sanctuary of St. Rita. The internal part of the church is in Baroque style, in contrast with the exterior, very bare.
On the ceiling, completely golden, S. Medici’s life, miracles and Ascension are represented . On the ceiling the year 1650 is quoted since, probably, it marked the end of the works of this part of the church. Therefore, this means that the frescos were carried out after Finoglio’s death by his pupils.
1. SCENE 1 : “The Trinity with the Saints Cosma and Damiano, Antonio, Francesco, Chiara” (in the middle of the vault)
2. SCENE 2: “The Saints thrown in the water”(on the left of the central one)
3. SCENE 3: “The Saints saved by an angel” ( on the right of the central one)
THE PAINTINGS
1. THE MIRACLE OF S. ANTONIO
It is placed on the altar in the 1st chapel on the left. The painting represents S. Antonio’s miracle: he’s raising a killed man from the dead, in order to exculpate his father who was accused of his murder unfairly. The son is supported by 2 men and in the middle of the scene the saint puts his right hand on the father’s head while with the other one he is judging him. The painting was made between 1636-1646.
2. THE MARTYRDOM OF S. GENNARO
The iconography of the painting represents S. Gennaro’s martyrdom, when he was beheaded. He was the bishop of Benevento in 305. The legend tells that at the moment of the beheading his forefinger was, accidentally, amputated and his blood was covered on a sponge; since then it is kept in Naples and venerated. The painting was made in the early 40 years of the XVII cent.
3. S. URBANO BAPTIZES VALERIANO
People think that the painting, probably, was carried out by Finoglio. The Pope Urbano 1st is baptizing Valeriano 2nd at the presence of his bride Cecilia, a perfect model of Christian woman, venerated since the IV and V cent. The Pope dominates the scene and he is the main character of the painting. Behind Cecilia there’s a figure which could be Ascanio Filomarino, an important clergyman (uncle of Isabella Filomarino, Giangirolamo’s wife), represented to mark the important relationships that the Family of Acquaviva used to have with the Vatican. The painting was made in 1641.
4. THE MIRACLE OF S. DOMENICO
It is placed on the altar in the 2nd chapel on the right. The painting represents one of the first miracle of S. Domenico: during a journey to Rome the saint saved some pilgrims from drowning in the Garonna river because of the fall of a bridge. The painting was made in the 40s of the 17th cent.
5. THE VIRGIN WITH THE CHILD AND S. ROSALIA
It is placed in the 3rd chapel on the right. News on the saint are not sufficient but it is known that she was born in Palermo; she retreated on Pellegrino mount to keep on living as a penitent in a cave. In that cave she was buried. In the painting the saint is represented on her knees, with flowers between her hands, looking at the Virgin; she wore habit, belt and veil, symbols of S. Francesco’s humility. Near her foot there are the cross, the book and the stone, symbols of penitence. The miracle represented in the painting could be linked to a particular event of Giangirolamo’s life: the defence of Manfredonia from a Turkish raid in 1617. The earl entrusted to Finoglio the painting, in order to celebrate an historical event he lived personally, considering the saint the one who did the miracle. The painting was restored in the XVII cent.
THE CASTLE OF CONVERSANO
The imposing castle is of Norman origins and it is one of the most fascinating of Apulia; it is 60m. long and 40m. wide. Originally of a trapezoidal shape, it was built during the earldom of Goffredo Altavilla The Norman (the first earl of C.) round about the XI cen., using as foundation in some parts, the megalithic walls of the ancient peucetian centre.
During the XVII cen. A series of works changed the castle from a military fortress into an exclusive residence of the Acquaviva d’Aragona family. The castle was modified at various times over the ages, until countess Dorotea Acquaviva added the main entrance, the enclosure wall of the courtyard and the gallery inside the entrance hall in 1710. The most beautiful apartment is the “alcova”, the bedroom, of Giangirolamo II where there are paintings by Paolo Finoglio.
THE MAIN TOWER
The main tower is the oldest part of the castle, built in 1080; it’s 25m. high. Even if since the XVII cent. the castle turned into a beautiful residence, the main tower remained the same.
THE FIRST FLOOR: we are now on the 1ST floor of the main tower, used by soldiers as “lumber-room”, since they spent a lot of time in this tower. The well is the main element of this room as it was used by soldiers to pick up water, vital for their survival. On the opening mouth of the well you can see these circular forms and grooves where the ropes slid. Therefore, in these holes soldiers put some weights to keep the ropes and not to let the buckets fall down in the well. (telling the legend of ius primae noctis). The light strip on the wall was the drain through which the rain water went down the well.
On your right/left you can admire the ancient megalithic stones upon which the main tower was built.
THE SECOND FLOOR: the walls are 2m thick and before the building of the stairs one could control the surrounding area. The corbels on the walls supported a loft of wood where the soldiers used to sleep, and this loft was lighted up by two windows, one is still visible and the other one was walled up. During the unfortunate restoration of the last century , the floor was covered by cement.
THE TERRACE: it is the highest point of the castle with its 219m above the sea level. Here you can admire a beautiful panoramic view:
1. the whole town;
2. the cathedral and its bell tower in Romanesque style;
3. the monastery of S. Benedetto and in particular its bell tower made up of majolica bricks coming from Spain;
4. the sea (telling the legend of “the red land/earth”)
THE MEDIEVAL ENTRANCEThis entrance was the original one. The shape of the door allowed the carts and cabs entering the castle. On the ceiling there is the beautiful paintings of SS. Medici Cosma and Damiano and on the sides their life and miracles are represented. In front of you there is the coat-of-arms of one of the several families who governed Conversano. On the side walls it is still visible the method of building of ancient times: they used a mixture of mud and hail as fixing material, and it’s still all standing! We are going to the stables of the castle. Here there was a rare and precious race of horses once called “Conti di Conversano”, and now commonly known as Lipizzaner Horses, they born with a dark skin but at the age of ten it turns into white. In the stables it’s still visible a part of the megalithic walls that surrounded C. during the VIII cent. B.C. and a fresco of St. Cristopher, probably here there was an oratory dedicated to him.
THE CATHEDRAL
Near the castle there is the gem of the town, the Romanesque cathedral. Started by the Normans between the XI cent. and the XII cent. the church, in Romanesque Apulia style, was enlarged by the bishop Pietro d’Itri, in 1359, on the remains of an ancient pagan temple and changed further during the centuries. Dedicated to “Madonna dell’Assunta” (The Virgin of the Assumption), it has a nave and 2 aisles, and the façade divided into 3 parts. The plan of the church is Latin cross-shaped and the main altar is turned to east, that is to Jerusalem, according to the most faithful canons of Christian religion. Like the external part of the church also the internal is perfectly divided into 3 parts, with a T-shaped plan to remind the Christian Cross.
In 1911 a fire destroyed almost the whole interior part of the church, except for the wooden Crucifix situated in the right aisle and the Holy Icon of “Madonna della Fonte”, patroness of C., situated in the left aisle. In 1997 the cathedral was consecrated “Basilica minore”.
The main façade is perfectly divided into 3 parts reminding the Holy Trinity:
• 3 portals
• 3 rose windows
THE PORTAL: the tympanum is made up of concentric arches where the subjects represented are vegetables (branches of acanthus), animals and genii. In the lower part you can see 13 figures, probably Christ and the 12 apostles. On the fanlight the Virgin on a throne with the Divine Infant in high-relief is represented; 2 lions, one is devouring a lamb and stands for man victim of the sin; the other one stands for the original sin.
THE WINDOW OF THE APSE: it’s a precious element of the church for its particular and refined decoration. In the XIV cent. it showed traces of Arabesque art. The fresco of the XIV cent. , in the left apse of the church, got darken during the fire in 1911 and was restored in 1976. On the vault you can admire 2 angels and the Virgin on a throne with the Divine Infant between her arms.
BAROQUE ELEMENTS: the capitals of the columns are decorated with stone leaves, animals, monsters and human figures.
THE WOMEN’S GALLERY: (XIV cent.) it was built up on 32 capitals decorated with stone subjects of Byzantine inspiration:
• plants, leaves, vegetable subjects;
• coat-of-arms of Enghien;
• animals and human figures
People think that the bishop Pietro d’Itri allowed the building of the woman’s gallery when the Enghien-Briennes were earls of Conversano.
THE ICON OF “MADONNA DELLA FONTE”: according to the legend, the Holy Icon was brought to C. by the bishop Simplicio, returning from a mission in Africa. The bishop landed, by chance, on the coast of Cozze because of a strong storm that forced sailors to change harbour as, at first, they were sailing towards Polignano. The frame of the original painting was made by Giovanni Simone in Naples in1896 and the frame of the copy, probably, by Paolo Finoglio in the XVII cent.
THE MONASTERY OF S. BENEDETTO
According to the tradition, the Monastery of S. Benedetto was founded by S. Mauro (S. Benedetto’s disciple) in the VI cent.. Anyway the real founder of the monastery was Goffredo Altavilla the Norman, the first earl of Conversano, who gave it important prerogatives and properties like, for example, the feud of Castellana in 1087. Therefore, he allowed, also, the building of the church and the bell tower. For its celebrity S. B. was called “Monstrum Apuliae” as it was the main religious centre in Apulia.
S. Benedetto’s church was built in the XI cent. on a pre-Romanesque church and, between the XVI cent. and the XVII cent. it was subjected to Baroque influences.
At first, the M. was subjected to the abbey of Montecassino, then since 957 to 1266 it was taken by monks, who, in that year, left it and escaped from the town. A new religious order, headed by Dameta Paleologo, took the nunnery. She belonged to a famous noble family of Costantinopoli and became the head of a group of nuns , “Badesse Mitrate”, who got a big power:
• they wore the mitre and took up the pastoral stuff
• they enjoyed the honour of the hand-kissing, a right reserved to bishops only.
Abbesses and bishops didn’t get on well and one of the effects of this “fight” was the “quarrel of the bell tower”. The height of the bell tower of the churches was a symbol of power and the nuns wanted S. Benedetto’s tower to be higher than that of the Romanesque cathedral. The former is also richer in decoration than the latter. In fact, the Baroque bell tower of the monastery was built up with bricks coming from Massa Carrara and the dome was, completely, built up with bricks coming from Spain. The meaning of this fight dealt with the power that religious groups got at that time.
The arch is made up of 3 coats of arm:
• the central one belongs to the Pope Alessandro VII;
• that on the right belongs to the Acquaviva family;
• that on the left belongs to the Abbesses.
On the sides of the portal of the church there are 2 lions which are not original since they were brought there when Marianna A. d’Aragona was the abbess in 1658. The Romanesque bell tower of the northern façade of the church is made up of a single level built when Goffredo Altavilla was the earl of Conversano.
Remarkably valuable is the medieval cloister, built between the X cent. the 14th cent., of trapezoidal shape supported by 12 columns on the top of which there are 12 capitals representing different subjects (animals, vegetables, human figures). On a capital, in particular, the Latin label “ora et labora”(pray and work) is represented since there are 2 angels praying and 2 oxen drawing a plough. On the wall there is a sun-dial.
In 1810, in consequence of “Delatur Monstrum Apuliae” the nuns lost their nunnery and the bishops got it again, turning it into a common monastery depending on the bishopric.
ANECDOTES:
1. in the XVII cent. cent., the abbess Dorotea, belonging to Acquaviva family, asked to a joiner to make a hole on the roof of her room so that she could escape and meet her lover to Venice. The Pope allowed her to leave the religious order;
2. a nun left the nunnery to stay with her lover, who, unfortunately, died after a year; she was accepted again in the “holy order” but the Abbess painted 100 eyes on the door of her room so that she could feel ever looked at.
It seems that the name “Marchione” rises from a correction of the old name of the district “Macchione”. Giulio Antonio III allowed the building of the cottage, after getting the fief in 1710. Acquaviva d’Arag. family governed Conversano till 1810, the year in which the decree abolishing feudalism was issued.
In a background in which feudalism was decaying and in particular, in southern Italy, the building of Marchione focuses on this problematic period of the history and, above all, showed, once again, the influence and the prestige of Acquaviva d’Arag. family.
Marchione is, completely, built up with limestone. It has a square plan and it’s built on 3 levels:
• the ground floor corresponding to the old stables
• the mezzanine floor for the guests
• the first floor, where there is the noble apartment.
The main façade is characterized by the impressive staircases which lead to the fist floor passing from 2 flights of stairs; the windows are decorated with small pillars and a rich lodge. Directed to South-west and North-east, the side façades have the same windows of the main front, even though they are lower.
The main problem about Marchione is the date of its building and architect. Pietro Gioia maintains that the building can be dated back to the reign of Giulio Antonio Acquaviva d’Arag., husband of Maria Teresa Spinelli Tarsia, princes of Naples. Starting from Gioia’s studies, Giovanni Simone maintains that Marchione was built between 1730-1740, when Giulio Antonio III was the earl of Conversano. Other experts found out a “document under the seal of a notary public” (atto notarile) of 1721 testing that the building was dated back to a period before 1721. Agreeing this fact, the hypothesis 1730-1740 falls down, since that document was drawn up between Giulio Antonio and the ones who built Marchione and proves its existence already in 1721. The document dealt with:
• the building of the courtyard, the old consignment, the kitchen and other rooms (1st act)
• the building of the walls and the portal (2nd act)
What about the problem of the architect, some experts think that the earl Giulio Antonio could have known Luigi Vanvitelli, one of the greatest architect in Naples, lived between 1700-1773. He is thought to be the “author” of the wonderful drawing of Marchione. Vinaccia maintained that Vincenzo Ruffo, a pupil of Vanvitelli built up the cottage. However, these 2 hypothesis are both refuted:
• the building cannot be a work by Vanvitelli as it is impossible that he had already planned the drawing when he was just 20
• it cannot be neither a work by Ruffo as he was born in 1749, 30 years after the building of Marchione.
Anyway, the historical sources let the problem of the date unsolved.
First noble floor: it is possible only to visit the central hall, because the other rooms are private. On the ceiling there is a beautiful painting of the coat of arms of the family Acquaviva and Filomarino, dated back to the age of Giangirolamo II’s government. It means that this cottage was also used by “the Squinter”, who is represented on a painting on the right wall of the room in good physical shape. His vigorous look without the ill eye, has led many historical critics to say that the count himself invented this kind of nickname, just to avoid the accuse of royal betrayal.
Surroundings: inside the ortus conclusus (the space surrounded by walls), there’s an ancient wood oven, a cistern and a neoclassical consecrated church. Outside the walls there is another cistern and a little tower, once used to keep and train pigeons, hawks and doves.
MEDIEVAL TOUR
(CASTLE, CATHEDRAL, S. BENEDETTO)
This is a short itinerary, full of historical references, architectural and artistic places, constantly recalling places of power, prayer and work. Visitors are first taken through the heart of the town: the castle, the cathedral and S. Benedetto. Symbol of Conversano is the castle, with its history and legends, tradition and culture (telling about the castle, then the other 2 buildings).
BAROQUE TOUR
(SS. COSMA AND DAMIANO, CARMINE, ISOLA, MARCHIONE)
In the first half of the 17th cent., Conversano became a little “capital”, attracting artists, men of letters and poets. (telling about S. Cosma). During the baroque tour visitors can admire The Church “Madonna del Carmine”, built according to the wishes of Isabella Filomarino in the XVII cent. (telling about Carmine). If one wishes to continue the tour there’s an excursion to the convent of Santa Maria dell’Isola (telling about it) and the cottage/hunting house of Marchione.
THE CHURCH OF S. CATERINA
The church of S. Caterina is 1 Km far from Conversano. It’s a small temple dedicated to S. Caterina from Alessandria. The church is situated on the old road linking Conversano to the little harbour of S. Vito in Polignano. In the VIII cent. S. Caterina was already known, but only in the half of the XI cent. there are proofs of the saint’s worship/adoration.
There are two hypothesis on the period of its building; according to the first, the church was built up on the half of the XI cent., probably, as a “case” of the saint’s relics or as remembrance of a pilgrim to the holy places. The second hypothesis could be related to the earl Giulio Antonio I Acquviava d’Aragona, who allowed the building of the church after 1456 as a tribute for his wife, Caterina Orsini del Balzo.
What about S. Caterina, it must be said that she lived in the IV cent. a.C. and her life is a mystery. She is said to belong to a royal family, to be a very cultivated woman, particularly interested in philosophy. She was convicted to be starving but she was fed by a dove; then, she was laid under a wheel full of prickles and didn’t die. At the end, she died beheaded and from her neck didn’t come out blood but white milk. The legend goes on telling that her body was brought by angels to Sinai mount, where a monastery dedicated to the saint was built up.
The iconography represents S. Caterina with the royal crown on her head, the book, symbol of her knowledge and the wheel full of prickles, symbol of her martyrdom.
During the centuries the church was subjected to different changes:
• In 1690 during a pestilence, the church turned into a receptacle of bodies;
• In 1910, the bishop Antonio Lamberti emptied out the church of all the bones;
• In 1935, the restoration started and today, the cultural club “Donna Club” looks after the chapel maintenance.
From the artistic point of view, the church has been influenced by oriental inspiration even if it sets in the Romanesque art of Apulia (high Middle Age). The church is an example of Byzantine architecture and it has a four-leaf clover shape, that is made up of 4 semicircles, which can be all inscribed in a circle with a radius twice as much that of the semicircles.
The church is built up with squared big limestone stones.
S. MARIA DELL’ISOLA
The church and the nunnery dedicated to the “Virgin of the island” are situated 1 Km far from Conversano and that’s the reason why it is called like that.
The building of the church is related to a miracle operated, in 1462, by the Virgin. She appeared in the dream of a girl from Conversano, leading her to come to this place and to thread a knife into the ground. Even though the knife, going into the ground, found rocks, it didn’t break. Getting surprised at the event, the girl came back to the city telling about it. The bishop, Pietro de Migolla (1448-1468) blessed the cave found out during the excavation. A legend about the cave tells that the castle of Conversano and the nunnery could be linked by a secret passage used by the earls when they were in danger.
However, an historian maintains that the worship/adoration of the Virgin was previous the XV cent.; in fact, in the cave were found out:
• A painting representing the Virgin with the Baby;
• A statue of the Virgin (today disappeared)
• An altar
• Some paintings of the XIII cent.
What about the date of its building, it could be dated back to the XIII-XIV cent., so that the earl Giulio Antonio would have just enlarged the pre-existent structure and built up the church and the big cloister. During the earldom of Giulio Antonio the church was made up of a nave and was rich in paintings as the religious order of Franciscans wanted. Acquaviva family was so strongly close to Franciscans that Giulio Antonio entrusted to them the nunnery.
The building of the big cloister is linked to the earl’s death (Giulio Antonio Acquviva) in 1481 in Otranto. In obedience to Andrea Matteo’s will, the church, private chapel, turned into the “funeral” chapel of Acquaviva d’Aragona family, in order to celebrate his father, founder of the nunnery. The works came to an end in 1525 by building a mausoleum (the empty tomb of Giulio Antonio).
In 1530 a new nave was added and that date was engraved in the keystone in the span on the left. In the same year there was a break of the works because of historical events:
• After succeeding to his father, Andrea Matteo got the opportunity of vaulting of the name “d’Aragona” . However, because of his character he was deprived of the earldom of Conversano;
• The French-Spanish war which damaged the reign;
• Epidemics plague, one in 1528 and the other between 1530-1532.
In 1618 the works started again in obedience to the will of Giangirolamo II Acquaviva d’Aragona, who allowed the building of the altars. Between 1727-1737 the nunnery was enlarged, after it was linked to the city by building the actual road. From then on, the slow decay of the church and the nunnery started and went on till 1866 when the building became private.
DECORATION AND PAINTINGS
The first pictorial phase started in 1462 with the painting of “The Trinity, S. James and the Virgin on the throne with the Divine Infant”: in this painting you can notice a character, knelt down, who is praying. He could be Giangirolamo II, as proof of his active presence in the building of the church.
In obedience to Giangirolamo’s will a sculptor from Galatina, Nuzzo Barba, made different works:
• The temple of the Virgin
• The small stone pulpit, hold up by an angel. In the middle of it there is a shield on which the coat-of-arms of Acquaviva family is represented. The pulpit was built up in 1479 when the family got the privilege of adding to their coat of arms that of Aragonas;
• The last work by Nuzzo Barba was the mausoleum of Giulio Antonio and his wife, completed by the statues of Andrea Matteo and Isabella Piccolomini. Both the earls wanted the building of that monument.
THE BIG CLOISTER
It was built to celebrate Giulio Antonio’s death in Otranto. On 3 sides it is decorated with 22 scenes representing the story of S. Joseph the Jewish. The cloister is dated back to the XV cent. and the decoration to the XVII cent. On the bottom of the west side the story of the religious order of Franciscans is represented.
THE CHURCH OF SS. MEDICI COSMA AND DAMIANO
Starting from 1636, the old church of S. Matteo was transformed by order of the earl Giangirolamo II Acquaviva d’Aragona and his wife Isabella Filomarino, both devoted to Saints Cosma and Damiano. The project was entrusted to the painter of the court Paolo Finoglio who painted the ceiling and the pictures of the sides chapels. In 1912 the bishop Lamberti entrusted the church and the convent to the nuns Crocifisse Adoratrici. The church is Sanctuary of St. Rita. The internal part of the church is in Baroque style, in contrast with the exterior, very bare.
On the ceiling, completely golden, S. Medici’s life, miracles and Ascension are represented . On the ceiling the year 1650 is quoted since, probably, it marked the end of the works of this part of the church. Therefore, this means that the frescos were carried out after Finoglio’s death by his pupils.
1. SCENE 1 : “The Trinity with the Saints Cosma and Damiano, Antonio, Francesco, Chiara” (in the middle of the vault)
2. SCENE 2: “The Saints thrown in the water”(on the left of the central one)
3. SCENE 3: “The Saints saved by an angel” ( on the right of the central one)
THE PAINTINGS
1. THE MIRACLE OF S. ANTONIO
It is placed on the altar in the 1st chapel on the left. The painting represents S. Antonio’s miracle: he’s raising a killed man from the dead, in order to exculpate his father who was accused of his murder unfairly. The son is supported by 2 men and in the middle of the scene the saint puts his right hand on the father’s head while with the other one he is judging him. The painting was made between 1636-1646.
2. THE MARTYRDOM OF S. GENNARO
The iconography of the painting represents S. Gennaro’s martyrdom, when he was beheaded. He was the bishop of Benevento in 305. The legend tells that at the moment of the beheading his forefinger was, accidentally, amputated and his blood was covered on a sponge; since then it is kept in Naples and venerated. The painting was made in the early 40 years of the XVII cent.
3. S. URBANO BAPTIZES VALERIANO
People think that the painting, probably, was carried out by Finoglio. The Pope Urbano 1st is baptizing Valeriano 2nd at the presence of his bride Cecilia, a perfect model of Christian woman, venerated since the IV and V cent. The Pope dominates the scene and he is the main character of the painting. Behind Cecilia there’s a figure which could be Ascanio Filomarino, an important clergyman (uncle of Isabella Filomarino, Giangirolamo’s wife), represented to mark the important relationships that the Family of Acquaviva used to have with the Vatican. The painting was made in 1641.
4. THE MIRACLE OF S. DOMENICO
It is placed on the altar in the 2nd chapel on the right. The painting represents one of the first miracle of S. Domenico: during a journey to Rome the saint saved some pilgrims from drowning in the Garonna river because of the fall of a bridge. The painting was made in the 40s of the 17th cent.
5. THE VIRGIN WITH THE CHILD AND S. ROSALIA
It is placed in the 3rd chapel on the right. News on the saint are not sufficient but it is known that she was born in Palermo; she retreated on Pellegrino mount to keep on living as a penitent in a cave. In that cave she was buried. In the painting the saint is represented on her knees, with flowers between her hands, looking at the Virgin; she wore habit, belt and veil, symbols of S. Francesco’s humility. Near her foot there are the cross, the book and the stone, symbols of penitence. The miracle represented in the painting could be linked to a particular event of Giangirolamo’s life: the defence of Manfredonia from a Turkish raid in 1617. The earl entrusted to Finoglio the painting, in order to celebrate an historical event he lived personally, considering the saint the one who did the miracle. The painting was restored in the XVII cent.
THE CASTLE OF CONVERSANO
The imposing castle is of Norman origins and it is one of the most fascinating of Apulia; it is 60m. long and 40m. wide. Originally of a trapezoidal shape, it was built during the earldom of Goffredo Altavilla The Norman (the first earl of C.) round about the XI cen., using as foundation in some parts, the megalithic walls of the ancient peucetian centre.
During the XVII cen. A series of works changed the castle from a military fortress into an exclusive residence of the Acquaviva d’Aragona family. The castle was modified at various times over the ages, until countess Dorotea Acquaviva added the main entrance, the enclosure wall of the courtyard and the gallery inside the entrance hall in 1710. The most beautiful apartment is the “alcova”, the bedroom, of Giangirolamo II where there are paintings by Paolo Finoglio.
THE MAIN TOWER
The main tower is the oldest part of the castle, built in 1080; it’s 25m. high. Even if since the XVII cent. the castle turned into a beautiful residence, the main tower remained the same.
THE FIRST FLOOR: we are now on the 1ST floor of the main tower, used by soldiers as “lumber-room”, since they spent a lot of time in this tower. The well is the main element of this room as it was used by soldiers to pick up water, vital for their survival. On the opening mouth of the well you can see these circular forms and grooves where the ropes slid. Therefore, in these holes soldiers put some weights to keep the ropes and not to let the buckets fall down in the well. (telling the legend of ius primae noctis). The light strip on the wall was the drain through which the rain water went down the well.
On your right/left you can admire the ancient megalithic stones upon which the main tower was built.
THE SECOND FLOOR: the walls are 2m thick and before the building of the stairs one could control the surrounding area. The corbels on the walls supported a loft of wood where the soldiers used to sleep, and this loft was lighted up by two windows, one is still visible and the other one was walled up. During the unfortunate restoration of the last century , the floor was covered by cement.
THE TERRACE: it is the highest point of the castle with its 219m above the sea level. Here you can admire a beautiful panoramic view:
1. the whole town;
2. the cathedral and its bell tower in Romanesque style;
3. the monastery of S. Benedetto and in particular its bell tower made up of majolica bricks coming from Spain;
4. the sea (telling the legend of “the red land/earth”)
THE MEDIEVAL ENTRANCEThis entrance was the original one. The shape of the door allowed the carts and cabs entering the castle. On the ceiling there is the beautiful paintings of SS. Medici Cosma and Damiano and on the sides their life and miracles are represented. In front of you there is the coat-of-arms of one of the several families who governed Conversano. On the side walls it is still visible the method of building of ancient times: they used a mixture of mud and hail as fixing material, and it’s still all standing! We are going to the stables of the castle. Here there was a rare and precious race of horses once called “Conti di Conversano”, and now commonly known as Lipizzaner Horses, they born with a dark skin but at the age of ten it turns into white. In the stables it’s still visible a part of the megalithic walls that surrounded C. during the VIII cent. B.C. and a fresco of St. Cristopher, probably here there was an oratory dedicated to him.
THE CATHEDRAL
Near the castle there is the gem of the town, the Romanesque cathedral. Started by the Normans between the XI cent. and the XII cent. the church, in Romanesque Apulia style, was enlarged by the bishop Pietro d’Itri, in 1359, on the remains of an ancient pagan temple and changed further during the centuries. Dedicated to “Madonna dell’Assunta” (The Virgin of the Assumption), it has a nave and 2 aisles, and the façade divided into 3 parts. The plan of the church is Latin cross-shaped and the main altar is turned to east, that is to Jerusalem, according to the most faithful canons of Christian religion. Like the external part of the church also the internal is perfectly divided into 3 parts, with a T-shaped plan to remind the Christian Cross.
In 1911 a fire destroyed almost the whole interior part of the church, except for the wooden Crucifix situated in the right aisle and the Holy Icon of “Madonna della Fonte”, patroness of C., situated in the left aisle. In 1997 the cathedral was consecrated “Basilica minore”.
The main façade is perfectly divided into 3 parts reminding the Holy Trinity:
• 3 portals
• 3 rose windows
THE PORTAL: the tympanum is made up of concentric arches where the subjects represented are vegetables (branches of acanthus), animals and genii. In the lower part you can see 13 figures, probably Christ and the 12 apostles. On the fanlight the Virgin on a throne with the Divine Infant in high-relief is represented; 2 lions, one is devouring a lamb and stands for man victim of the sin; the other one stands for the original sin.
THE WINDOW OF THE APSE: it’s a precious element of the church for its particular and refined decoration. In the XIV cent. it showed traces of Arabesque art. The fresco of the XIV cent. , in the left apse of the church, got darken during the fire in 1911 and was restored in 1976. On the vault you can admire 2 angels and the Virgin on a throne with the Divine Infant between her arms.
BAROQUE ELEMENTS: the capitals of the columns are decorated with stone leaves, animals, monsters and human figures.
THE WOMEN’S GALLERY: (XIV cent.) it was built up on 32 capitals decorated with stone subjects of Byzantine inspiration:
• plants, leaves, vegetable subjects;
• coat-of-arms of Enghien;
• animals and human figures
People think that the bishop Pietro d’Itri allowed the building of the woman’s gallery when the Enghien-Briennes were earls of Conversano.
THE ICON OF “MADONNA DELLA FONTE”: according to the legend, the Holy Icon was brought to C. by the bishop Simplicio, returning from a mission in Africa. The bishop landed, by chance, on the coast of Cozze because of a strong storm that forced sailors to change harbour as, at first, they were sailing towards Polignano. The frame of the original painting was made by Giovanni Simone in Naples in1896 and the frame of the copy, probably, by Paolo Finoglio in the XVII cent.
THE MONASTERY OF S. BENEDETTO
According to the tradition, the Monastery of S. Benedetto was founded by S. Mauro (S. Benedetto’s disciple) in the VI cent.. Anyway the real founder of the monastery was Goffredo Altavilla the Norman, the first earl of Conversano, who gave it important prerogatives and properties like, for example, the feud of Castellana in 1087. Therefore, he allowed, also, the building of the church and the bell tower. For its celebrity S. B. was called “Monstrum Apuliae” as it was the main religious centre in Apulia.
S. Benedetto’s church was built in the XI cent. on a pre-Romanesque church and, between the XVI cent. and the XVII cent. it was subjected to Baroque influences.
At first, the M. was subjected to the abbey of Montecassino, then since 957 to 1266 it was taken by monks, who, in that year, left it and escaped from the town. A new religious order, headed by Dameta Paleologo, took the nunnery. She belonged to a famous noble family of Costantinopoli and became the head of a group of nuns , “Badesse Mitrate”, who got a big power:
• they wore the mitre and took up the pastoral stuff
• they enjoyed the honour of the hand-kissing, a right reserved to bishops only.
Abbesses and bishops didn’t get on well and one of the effects of this “fight” was the “quarrel of the bell tower”. The height of the bell tower of the churches was a symbol of power and the nuns wanted S. Benedetto’s tower to be higher than that of the Romanesque cathedral. The former is also richer in decoration than the latter. In fact, the Baroque bell tower of the monastery was built up with bricks coming from Massa Carrara and the dome was, completely, built up with bricks coming from Spain. The meaning of this fight dealt with the power that religious groups got at that time.
The arch is made up of 3 coats of arm:
• the central one belongs to the Pope Alessandro VII;
• that on the right belongs to the Acquaviva family;
• that on the left belongs to the Abbesses.
On the sides of the portal of the church there are 2 lions which are not original since they were brought there when Marianna A. d’Aragona was the abbess in 1658. The Romanesque bell tower of the northern façade of the church is made up of a single level built when Goffredo Altavilla was the earl of Conversano.
Remarkably valuable is the medieval cloister, built between the X cent. the 14th cent., of trapezoidal shape supported by 12 columns on the top of which there are 12 capitals representing different subjects (animals, vegetables, human figures). On a capital, in particular, the Latin label “ora et labora”(pray and work) is represented since there are 2 angels praying and 2 oxen drawing a plough. On the wall there is a sun-dial.
In 1810, in consequence of “Delatur Monstrum Apuliae” the nuns lost their nunnery and the bishops got it again, turning it into a common monastery depending on the bishopric.
ANECDOTES:
1. in the XVII cent. cent., the abbess Dorotea, belonging to Acquaviva family, asked to a joiner to make a hole on the roof of her room so that she could escape and meet her lover to Venice. The Pope allowed her to leave the religious order;
2. a nun left the nunnery to stay with her lover, who, unfortunately, died after a year; she was accepted again in the “holy order” but the Abbess painted 100 eyes on the door of her room so that she could feel ever looked at.
Orecchiette e cime di rapa
(for 4 people)
300 g orecchiette (pasta)
1 kg turnip
1 garlic clove
100 g pugliese extra virgin olive oil
2 salted fillets of anchovies
bread crumbs
chilli to taste
300 g orecchiette (pasta)
1 kg turnip
1 garlic clove
100 g pugliese extra virgin olive oil
2 salted fillets of anchovies
bread crumbs
chilli to taste
Instructions
Select the tender leaves and the tops of the turnips.
Clean, wash and dry the turnips.
Heat the oil and lightly fry the garlic in a large pan, add 2 salted fillets of anchovies.
Put a little oil in another pan and fry the bread crumbs until golden brown.
Boil the turnip tops and leaves in salted water for 10 minutes. Then add orecchiette and boil them altogether for 8-10 minutes.
Strain orecchiette and turnips.
Mix pasta, turnips and sautéed anchovies.
Serve it with the toasted bread and chilli on the top.
BUON APPETITO!
Traduzione a cura delle Prof.sse Annalisa D'Aprile e Rossella Renna
Diritti Riservati
Pro Loco Conversano 2015