Giovinazzo (
Barese: ) is a town, ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' (municipality) and former bishopric within the
Metropolitan City of Bari
The Metropolitan City of Bari ( it, Città Metropolitana di Bari) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari. It replaced the Province of Bari and includes the city of Bari a ...
,
Apulia
it, Pugliese
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region, southeastern Italy.
History
It was a small fortified centre of the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, who called it Natolium, maybe built on the ruins of the
Peucete ''Netium'' which was destroyed during the
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Rome and Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and involved a total of forty-three ye ...
.
[Collenuccio da Pesaro, ''Historia del Regno di Napoli'', Naples, 1557]
After the
Byzantine period
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, it became a countship (later a duchy). It became later a flourishing commercial centre, that had trading connections with
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
.
Main sights
* The
co-cathedral, dedicated to ''Santa Maria Assunta'' (Mary's Assumption), built in the Norman period 1150–1180, in characteristic
Apulian Romanesque
it, Pugliese
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style featuring Eastern and Western elements, consecrated in 1283 under bishop Giovanni II; under bishop Paolo De Mercurio (1731–1752) it got a thorough
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
remodeling.
* Ducal Palace/Castle (17th century)
* Two columns of the
Via Traiana
Via Appia ''(white)'' and Via Traiana ''(red)''
The Via Traiana was an ancient Roman road. It was built by the emperor Trajan as an extension of the Via Appia from Beneventum, reaching Brundisium (Brindisi) by a shorter route (i.e. via Canusi ...
, which however did not pass through the city.
In the neighbourhood is
Castel del Monte, one of the most famous castles in southern Italy.
People
* American actor
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...
's father, Nicholas Turturro, emigrated to the United States from Giovinazzo in the first half of the 20th century.
*
Raffaele Sollecito
Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher (28 December 1985 – 1 November 2007) was a British student on exchange from the University of Leeds who was murdered at the age of 21 in Perugia, Italy. Kercher was found dead on the floor of her bedroom. By th ...
, falsely accused and incarcerated for the homicide of Meredith Kercher.
*
Enzo Camporeale
Enzo (Vincenzo) Camporeale (born 27 July 1966) is an Italian pianist, composer, and vocalist.
Life and career
Camporeale was born in Giovinazzo, a small town in the Province of Bari. According to his biographies at the Scuola Wilson and BDR danc ...
, pianist and composer
See also
*
List of Catholic dioceses in Italy
The following is the List of the Catholic dioceses in Italy. , the Catholic Church in Italy is divided into sixteen ecclesiastical regions. While they are similar to the 20 civil regions of the Italian state, there are some differences. Most eccl ...
References
External links
Official website
Cities and towns in Apulia
Coastal towns in Apulia
{{Puglia-geo-stub