Siponto ( la, Sipontum, grc-gre, Σιπιούς) was an ancient port town and bishopric in Apulia, southern Italy. The town was abandoned after earthquakes in the 13th century; today the area is administered as a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of the ''

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 ...

'' of Manfredonia, in the

province of Foggia The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, and ...

. Siponto is located around 3 km south of Manfredonia.

History

According to legend, Sipontum was founded by Diomedes, product of the union of the

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

ic hero of the same name with the daughter of the king of the Daunians. Siponto was probably founded by the Daunians. Sipontum was a flourishing Greek colony, its Greek name being Sipious (Σιπιούς); having fallen into the hands of the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they ...

, it was retaken about 335 BC by King Alexander of Epirus, uncle of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. In 189 BC it became a Roman colony with its original Sipious name still used in Byzantine times, and in 663 AD it was taken and destroyed by the Slavs. In the ninth century, Sipontum was for a time in the power of the Saracens; in 1042 the Normans made it the seat of one of their twelve counties. The latter won a decisive victory there over the Byzantine general Argyrus in 1052. Michael of Zahumlje on 10 July 926 sacked Siponto, which was a

Byzantine 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 Constantin ...

town in Apulia.Rački, ''Odlomci iz državnoga práva hrvatskoga za narodne dynastie:'', p. 15 It remains unknown if he did this by Tomislav's supreme command as suggested by some historians. Apparently, Tomislav sent the Croatian navy under Michael's leadership to drive the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia P ...

s from that part of southern Italy and free the city. Before the second half of the 12th century, the Knight Templar and the Hospitalier Order founded their first Italian

finca In English usage, a ''finca'' (; ) refers to a piece of rural or agricultural land, typically with a cottage, farmhouse or estate building present, and often adjacent to a woodland or plantation. Overview Especially in tourism, the term has re ...

s in the area of Capitanata, which spanned from Siponto to

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also know ...

, including Spinazzola, Borgonioni, Salpi, Trinitapoli, Santa Maria de Salinis, Belmonte, Lama and Bersentino. They were devoted to

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, star ...

, the commerce of marine salt, the depot of dietary goods, the

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

and

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vine ...

cultivation, as well to the use of natural waterfalls through mills. Such a skilful administration of their assets, grew the economic and military potential of the Orders, who were engaged in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

and in the protection of local communities. Some of the Knight Templar's ''masserie'' survived until the 21st century. Lastly, Siponto produced one of the greatest

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Jewish scholars, Rabbi Isaac ben Melchizedek, who composed one of the earliest commentaries on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tora ...

, a compendium of ancient

Jewish oral law According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ� ...

. In 1223, a major earthquake centered on Monte Gargano destroyed nearly every building in Siponto. The tremors continued for another two years, until, by 1225, everything was in ruins.

Ecclesiastical history

Ancient bishopric

According to legend, the Gospel was preached at Sipontum by

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupa ...

and by Saint Mark. Another tradition relates the martyrdom of the priest Saint Justin and his companions under Gallienus and

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then '' Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

, about 255. A bishopric of Sipontum (or Siponto) was established around 400 AD (or already in the third century according to others). The first bishop whose date may be fixed, was Felix, who was at Rome in 465. Another legend reports that, in the time of bishop

Laurence of Siponto Laurence of Siponto, also known as Laurence Maioranus ( it, Lorenzo Maiorano) (d. 7 February, c. 545), is an Italian saint, patron of the city of Manfredonia and the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo. Manfredonia Cathedral is ...

, during the papacy of Gelasius I (492-496), the archangel

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

appeared on Monte Gargano; in memory of the event, the Monastery of the Archangel was founded. Among the pilgrims were the emperors Otto III, Henry II, and Lothar III, and popes Leo IX, Urban II, and et Alexander III. A bishop Felix is attested in 591 and 593, and a bishop Vitalianus in 597 and 599. By about 688, Siponto was almost abandoned. The diocese was suppressed, and Pope Vitalian was obliged to entrust the pastoral care of Sipontum to the bishopric of Benevento.Online version
New Advent.

New (arch)bishopric

The see was re-established in 1034 as Diocese of Siponto, recovering its territory from the meanwhile Metropolitan Archdiocese of Benevento. Suffragan Bishops of Siponto were : * Bonus (1049? – 1059?) In April 1050,

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

held a synod at Siponto, at which he deposed two archbishops, who were charged with simony. In August 1059, at the Synod of Melfi,

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II ( la, Nicholaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his ...

deposed the archbishop of Trani and bishop of Siponto. Archbishop Johannes of Trani, in his tomb inscription claimed to be "Archiepiscopus Tranensis, Sipontinensis, Garganensis Ecclesiae, atque Imperialis Synkellus." * Guisard (attested 1062) * Gerard (1066–74) Under bishop Gerardus, Siponto became the non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Siponto in 1074. Non-Metropolitan Archbishops of Siponto were : * Giovanni (? – ?) * Omobono (1087? – 1097?)Ughelli VII, p. 824. In 1090, the diocese of Siponto lost territory to establish the Diocese of Vieste. In 1099 Siponto was promoted to the rank of Metropolitan Archdiocese of Siponto

Cathedral

The ancient cathedral remained still at Sipontum but, with the building of Manfredonia city by and named after King

Manfred of Sicily Manfred ( scn, Manfredi di Sicilia; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over t ...

, who decided to rebuild Siponto in a new nearby location, the archiepiscopal see was transferred to the new town in 1230, under its new title Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Manfredonia In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

(viz.), yet still Sipontin(us) as Latin adjective.

Notes and references

Bibliography

* *Kamp, Norbert (1975). ''Kirche und Monarchie im staufischen Königreich Sizilien
I. Prosopographische Grundlegung, Bistumer und Bistümer und Bischöfe des Konigreichs 1194–1266: 2. Apulien und Calabrien
' München: Wilhelm Fink 1975. *Kehr, Paulus Fridolin (1962). ''Italia pontificia. Regesta pontificum Romanorum.'
Vol. IX: Samnia – Apulia – Lucania
. Berlin: Weidmann. . pp. 230-267. *Lanzoni, Francesco (1927).
Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604)
'. . Faenza: F. Lega, pp. 277-284; 291-294; 300-303; 165-168. * * *

Sources and external links

*

{{authority control Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy Frazioni of the Province of Foggia Manfredonia Colonies of Magna Graecia Archaeological sites in Apulia Roman sites of Apulia Former populated places in Italy