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 , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

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 , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

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

References

External links

Official website

Cities and towns in Apulia Coastal towns in Apulia {{Puglia-geo-stub

History

Main sights

People

See also

References

External links