Conversano

This town was my best find on our 2023 tour of Puglia. I was taken in with the look and atmosphere of the town. At one time it was the centre of one of the most imporftant counties of the region. It is an ancient city, originally called Norba, dating back to the Iron Age. Later the town flourished with trade with the Greeks. After the Normans invaded, they renamed the town Cupersani. It did well under the Romans, being on the ancient road - Via Traiana.

More related to what we see today, the Counts of Altavilla lived in Conversano for over two hundred years, followed by the noble Acquaviva family who stayed for over three centuries.

The Castle of Conversano that dates back to Norman times (6th Century) and then rebuilt in the 11th Century when it was transformed into the home for the Acquaviva Family.

Today, the town is known for its Cathedral, the Monastero di San Benedetto and the Civic Archeological Museum and Art Gallery.

For me, I picked this town as a destination for a morning drive. I hate to say, I had not done any research of the town, I just saw it on the map, calculated it to be a short drive, and some on-line photos showed a castle etc that looked like an interesting photo trip.

It became of the most pleasant town of my time in Puglia.

I drove into the town and parked on Via Giuseppe Bolognini, beside the old Anfiteatro della Villa, found a parking spot and walked up a set of stairs by the Porta Tarantina that took me to the cathedral and the castel. The castello and monastery are on the hill (not overly steep) with the more modern town spread out below. I spent all my time in the historic centre.

Cathdral, Basilica Minore Santa Maria Assunta - A Romanesque style church built between the 11th and 12th centuries by the Normans and recently restored. Here is an example of where the cathedral does not face into the main piazza of the town. It faces into another seperate square, because the cathedral had to face west. The building of the bell town was actually stopped by petition from the abbesses of the monastery. Work on it continued at a later date. vThe facade was redone between 1358 and 1379, but retains its original form. During the Baroque period, the church was redone in the style of the day. I appreciate what is there as in 1911 fire gutted the interior. Everything was lost, but the inside was rebuilt and opened in 1926.

Castello di Conversano - The cylindrical tower was ordered by Giulio Antonio Acquaviva in the XV century and the polygonal tower by his son Andrea Matteo. There is rumored to have been a torture chamber in one of them. I was there very early in the morning and the castel was not open. Inside the Castello is the Pinacoteca di Conversano, where Neapolitan painter Paolo Domenico Finoglio's ten painting cycle dipicting the First Crusade in the epic poem Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) is exhibited.

I took a break and had a coffee at the Caffetteroa della Corte to wait for the Monastero di San Benedetto to open. I sometimes have rushed to quickly throug towns. Sit outside with a coffee and just enjoy your time in a locatiion.

The Monastery was founded in the 6th century and at one time the most powerful monasteries in Puglia. History books note the bell tower was built higher than that of the cathedral's - a way at the time to make a statement of the relative power of the Cisternian nuns, authorized by Pope Clement IV , an exceptional priveldge. Infact, in the 10th Century the monatery was give tax rights over the nearby centre of Castellana. The cloister, with the carved column capitals that surround a rather overgrown garden, is very impressive and a couple of original walls remain. If it's open, visit the 11th century crypt, the oldest part of the standing structure. Unfortunately I missed that, but it is always good to have a couple of things to fuel a return visit. There are occasional music concerts given in the Monastero.

It was a monastic complex that dates back to the 6th Century. It grew in power and by the 10th Century, it was given tax rights over the nearby center ofr Castellana.