Porta Bari (), previously called Porta de Bari, was one of the main gates of the city of

Altamura Altamura (; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Altopiano delle Murge, Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basilicata. , i ...

, before the city walls of the city were torn down over the 19th century. Similarly to most European cities (such as

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

), the city walls were torn down, because the new technology and military techniques employed starting from the 19th century made them useless for defense purposes.

History

The gate, as it appears today, was built between the 16th and 17th centuries. The previous gate was quite different from today. Before it was rebuilt, on top of the gate there used to be a small church, the ''chiesetta di SS. Annunziata''. The first evidence of the existence of this small church dates back to the 1490, and it was ''super portam de Bari'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, i.e. "on top of ''Porta Bari''"); documents about visits to the church by archdeacons testify that the church had some issues, since it could be reached only through an uncomfortable ladder and it was located above one of the main gates of the city. On top of the gate is a stone inscription, attributed to Saint Alphonsus Liguori pupillo-immagini, pag. 60 The inscription is a reference to the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. On top of the whole building, a

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharisti ...

is clearly visible. Originally, the monstrance was made of stone (more precisely, of ''Mazzaro'' stone, like the whole building). In 1939, for the first Diocesan eucharistic congress, the stone monstrance was removed and replaced with a steel monstrance. Outside of this gate, on 22 March 1799 (during the Altamuran Revolution of 1799), Altamura's "civic guard" () welcomed the new ''governo dipertimentale'' "parading with the beating of drums and the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

flags". The gate is also known because, on the night between 9 and 10 May 1799 (during the same Altamuran Revolution), most Altamurans managed to flee from

Fabrizio Ruffo Fabrizio Dionigi Ruffo (16 September 1744 – 13 December 1827) was an Italian cardinal and politician, who led the popular anti-Jacobin '' Sanfedismo'' movement (whose members were known as the ''Sanfedisti''). Biography Ruffo was born at San ...

and the

Sanfedisti ''Sanfedismo'' (from ''Santa Fede'', "Holy Faith" in Italian) was a popular anti-Jacobin movement, organized by Fabrizio Cardinal Ruffo, which mobilized peasants of the Kingdom of Naples against the pro-French Parthenopaean Republic in 1799, i ...

army through this gate, which wasn't then surveilled by guards. bolognese-zecher, p. 37 The gate, together with the above building, wasn't destroyed in the 19th century presumably because of its beauty or because it was inseparable from the nearby palace ''Palazzo De Angelis-Viti''. The gate and the palace haven't been restored to their original whiteness yet (as done with

Altamura Cathedral Altamura Cathedral (, ''Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta''), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Altamura, in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, in southern Italy. Since 1986 ...

), although it is the first historical building that tourists see when they enter the city.

Gallery

File:SantIrene Sala Consigliare del Comune di Altamura.png, Porta Bari - Painting depicting Saint Irene of Lecce - ''Sala Consigliare del Comune di Altamura'' (the city is at the bottom) File:Archivio Generalizio Agostiniano Carte Rocca P32.png, View of the City Walls of Altamura and porta Bari - Painting stored inside ''Archivio Generalizio Agostiniano'', ''Carte Rocca P32'' ( Angelica Library) File:Archivio Generalizio Agostiniano Carte Rocca P33.png, Another view - Painting stored inside ''Archivio Generalizio Agostiniano'', ''Carte Rocca P33'' ( Angelica Library)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Cite book , title=Cronache dei fatti del 1799 , author=Giancarlo Berarducci , author2= Vitangelo Bisceglia , editor=Giuseppe Ceci , year=1800 , location=

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, url=https://museoaltamura1799.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Pagine-da-Berarducci_Bisceglia_Cronache-dei-fatti-del-1799_-Altamura-1799-cronaca-Bisceglia.pdf , ref=Bisceglia , access-date=20 October 2019

History

Gallery

References

Bibliography

See also