1.
Castel del Monte, Apulia
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Castel del Monte is a 13th-century citadel and castle situated on a hill in Andria in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It was built during the 1240s by the Emperor Frederick II, in the 18th century, the castles interior marbles and remaining furnishings were removed. It has neither a moat nor a drawbridge and some considered it never to have intended as a defensive fortress, however. Described by the Enciclopedia Italiana as the most fascinating castle built by Frederick II and it also appears on the Italian version of the one cent Euro coin. Castel del Monte is situated on a hill close to the monastery of Santa Maria del Monte. When the castle was built, the region was famously fertile with a supply of water. It lies in the comune of Andria, occupying the site of a fortress of which no structural remains exist. It was never finished and there is no proof that the emperor used it as a lodge as commonly stated. It was later turned into a prison, used as a refuge during a plague and it originally had marble walls and columns, but all were stripped by vandals or re-used in constructions nearby. Because of its small size, it was once considered to be no more than a hunting lodge. Frederick was responsible for the construction of castles in Apulia. The fortress is a prism with an octagonal tower at each corner. The towers were originally some 5 m higher than now, both floors have eight rooms and an eight-sided courtyard occupies the castles centre. Each of the rooms has vaulted ceilings. Three of the towers contain staircases. The castle has two entrances, a service entrance and an ornate main entrance. Fredericks main entrance featured elements from classical design, and may have influenced by Fredericks interest in Greco-Roman architecture. The octagonal plan is unusual in castle design, historians have debated the purpose of the building and it has been suggested that it was intended as a hunting lodge
2.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
3.
Apulia
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Apulia is a region of Italy in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its southernmost portion, known as the Salento peninsula, forms a stiletto on the boot of Italy, the region comprises 19,345 square kilometers, and its population is about 4 million. It is bordered by the other Italian regions of Molise to the north, Campania to the west, across the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, it faces Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, and Montenegro, The Apulia region extends as far north as Monte Gargano. Puglias coastline is longer than any other mainland Italian region, in the north, the Gargano promontory extends out into the Adriatic, while in the south, the flat and dry Salento peninsula forms the heel of Italys boot. It is home to the Alta Murgia and Gargano National Parks, see also, History of Apulia Apulia is one of the richest archaeological regions in Italy. It was first colonized by Mycenaean Greeks, a number of castles were built in the area by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, including Castel del Monte, sometimes called the Crown of Apulia. After 1282, when the island of Sicily was lost, Apulia was part of the Kingdom of Naples, as a result of the French–Spanish war of 1501–1504, Naples again came under the rule of Aragon and the Spanish Empire from 1504 to 1714. When Barbary pirates of North Africa sacked Vieste in 1554, they took an estimated 7,000 slaves, in 1861 the region became part of the Kingdom of Italy, with the new capital city at Turin. In the words of one historian, Turin was so far away that Otranto is today closer to seventeen foreign capitals than it is to Turin, the regions contribution to Italys gross value added was around 4. 6% in 2000, while its population was 7% of the total. The per capita GDP is low compared to the national average, in comparison with the country as a whole, the economy of Apulia is characterised by a greater emphasis on agriculture and services and a smaller part played by industry. In the last 20 years the base of the regions economy has changed radically. The majority of firms are financed by local capital. In certain of these sectors – especially textiles, clothing, footwear, vehicles, the region has a good network of roads but the railway network is somewhat inadequate, particularly in the south. Apulias 800 kilometers of coastline is studded with ports, which make this region an important terminal for transport and tourism to Greece, between 2007 and 2013 the economy of Apulia expanded more than that of the rest of southern Italy. Such growth, over decades, is a severe challenge to the hydrogeological system. Emigration from the depressed areas to northern Italy and the rest of Europe was very intense in the years between 1956 and 1971. Subsequently, the trend declined as economic conditions improved, to the point where there was net immigration in the years between 1982 and 1985, since 1986 the stagnation in employment has led to a new inversion of the trend, caused by a decrease in immigration. Since 1 June 2015, former judge and mayor of Bari Michele Emiliano of the Democratic Party has served as President, Apulia is divided into five administrative provinces and one metropolitan city, Cuisine plays an important role throughout Apulia
4.
Agriculture
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Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of human civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science, the history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology, genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts, the major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo, other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, field, Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use resources to produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops. This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry, Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin, wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago, rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago, cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time
5.
Bari
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Bari is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, the city itself has a population of about 326,799, as of 2015, over 116 square kilometres, while the urban area has 700,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants, Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the south is the Murat quarter, the heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea. Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls, in addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has an airport named after Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła Airport. The city was founded by the Peucetii. Its harbour, mentioned as early as 181 BC, was probably the one of the districts in ancient times, as it is at present. The first historical bishop of Bari was Gervasius who was noted at the Council of Sardica in 347, the bishops were dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople until the 10th century. Until the arrival of the Normans, Bari continued to be governed by the Byzantines, throughout this period, and indeed throughout the Middle Ages, Bari served as one of the major slave depots of the Mediterranean, providing a central location for the trade in Slavic slaves. The city was conquered and the Emirate extinguished in 871, due to the efforts of Emperor Louis II, in 885, Bari became the residence of the local Byzantine catapan, or governor. In 1025, under the Archbishop Byzantius, Bari became attached to the see of Rome and was granted provincial status, in 1071, Bari was captured by Robert Guiscard, following a three-year siege. Maio of Bari, a Lombard merchants son, was the third of the admirals of Norman Sicily. The Basilica di San Nicola was founded in 1087 to receive the relics of this saint, the saint began his development from Saint Nicholas of Myra into Saint Nicholas of Bari and began to attract pilgrims, whose encouragement and care became central to the economy of Bari. In 1095 Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade there, the Greeks were not brought over to the Latin way of thinking, and the Great Schism was inevitable. A civil war broke out in Bari in 1117 with the murder of the archbishop, control of Bari was seized by Grimoald Alferanites, a native Lombard, and he was elected lord in opposition to the Normans. By 1123, he had increased ties with Byzantium and Venice, Grimoald increased the cult of St Nicholas in his city. He later did homage to Roger II of Sicily, but rebelled and was defeated in 1132, Bari was occupied by Manuel I Komnenos between 1155 and 1158
6.
Taranto
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Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base and it is the third-largest continental city of Southern Italy, according to 2011 population census, it has a population of 200,154. Taranto is an important commercial and military port and it has well-developed steel and iron foundries, oil refineries, chemical works, some shipyards for building warships, and food-processing factories. In ancient times around 500 BC the city was one of the largest in the world with population estimates up to 300,000 people, Tarantos pre-history dates back to 706 BC when it was founded as a Greek colony, established by the Spartans. The islets of S. Pietro and S. Paolo, collectively known as Cheradi Islands, protect the bay, called Mar Grande, another bay, called Mar Piccolo, is formed by the peninsula of the old city, and has flourishing fishing. Mar Piccolo is a port with strategic importance. At the end of the 19th century, a channel was excavated to allow ships to enter the Mar Piccolo harbour. In addition, the islets and the coast are strongly fortified, because of the presence of these two bays, Taranto is also called the city of the two seas. The Greek colonists from Sparta called the city Taras, after the mythical hero Taras, while the Romans, the natural harbor at Taranto made it a logical home port for the Italian naval fleet before and during the First World War. During World War II, Taranto became famous as a consequence of the November 1940 British air attack on the Regia Marina naval base stationed here, which today is called the Battle of Taranto. Taranto is also the origin of the name of the Tarantula spider family, Theraphosidae. In ancient times, residents of the town of Taranto, upon being bitten by the large local Wolf Spider, Lycosa tarentula and this was done in order to sweat the venom out of their pores, even though the spiders venom was not fatal to humans. The frenetic dance became known as the Tarantella, in geology, Taranto gives its name to the Tarantian Age of the Pleistocene Epoch. It is 14.5 metres above sea level and it was built on a plain running north/north-west–southeast, and surrounded by the Murgia plateau from the north-west to the east. Its territory extends for 209.64 square kilometres and is mostly underwater and it is characterised by three natural peninsulas and a man-made island, formed by digging a ditch during the construction of Aragon Castle. The Big Sea is frequently known as the Big Sea bay as that is where ships harbour and it is separated from the Little Sea by a cape which closes the gulf, leading to the artificial island. This island formed the heart of the city and it is connected to the mainland by the Ponte di Porta Napoli. The latter form an archipelago which closes off the arc creating the natural Big Sea bay
7.
Barletta
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Barletta listen is a city, comune and capoluogo together with Andria and Trani of Apulia, in south eastern Italy. Barletta is also a provincia and its population is around 94.700 citizens, the mouth of the river belongs to Barletta. The territory include also the fraction of Canne della Battaglia and this is a very important archeological site, remembered for the historical battle of 216 b. C. between Romans and the Carthaginians, won by Hannibal. The site has been recognisied as Città dArte of Apulia in the 2005 for the beauty architecture, Canne flourished in the Roman period and then after a series of debilitating Saracen attacks, was finally destroyed by the Normans and then abandoned in the early Middle Ages. Barletta is famous for the Colossus of Barletta, a bronze statue and this statue, called Eraclio by the inhabitants of Barletta, about 4 metres tall, is the biggest statue from the late Roman Empire. According to a folk story, Eraclio saved the city from a Saracen attack. Seeing the Saracen ships approaching Barlettas coast, Eraclio waited for them on the sea shore, the Saracens thought that Barlettas inhabitants were all giants so left the coast, fearing to face them. This episode was documented in 1833 by Massimo dAzeglio, who wrote the novel Ettore Fieramosca o la Disfida di Barletta, in the book the author regards this episode as one of the earliest manifestations of Italian national pride. The city at the time was fairly loosely besieged by French forces, Barletta is located on the Adriatic coast, where the rocky shore is covered with silt from the Ofanto river. The river forms the boundary of the provinces of Bari and Foggia and has influenced the agricultural activities of the area. The river also marks the passage from the Murgia to the plain of the Tavoliere. Barletta is situated on the south-west end of the Gulf of Manfredonia and it is on a low plain that varies from 10 to 15 metres above sea level. The surface extends over an area of 14,471 hectares, and has a length of about 6 kilometres, a width of about 2 kilometres and its climate is moderated by the sea. Winds are usually from the south, rainfall is low, Barletta receives 500 millimetres of rain annually, with most of the rain in autumn and winter during which day-long deluges occur. Rain is minimal between the half of June and the first half of August. The comune comprises two parts, Montaltino and Fiumara, the communes next to Barletta are, Andria, Canosa di Puglia, Margherita di Savoia, San Ferdinando di Puglia, Trani, and Trinitapoli. The city is endowed with a long, sandy coast stretching to both the east and the west from the commercial port. Along the coast, there are various attractive beaches with trees to the west, Phoenicians first established a trading post for their trade with the local tribes, and the Etruscans farther north
8.
Canosa di Puglia
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Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa, is a town and comune in Apulia in southern Italy, between Bari and Foggia, located in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. Canosa, the Roman Canusium, is considered the principal center of Apulia. A number of important vases and other finds are located in local museums. It is not far from the position on the Ofanto River where the Romans found refuge after the defeat of the Battle of Cannae and is the place of Bohemund I of Antioch. Canosa is the Italian development of the Latin Canusium, derived from the Greek Kanýsion, according to the Latin commentator Servius, Canusium derived from canis, an animal associated with the local worship of Aphrodite. Other derivations include from Greek kháneon, from the abundant wicker growing along the Ofanto, the Hebrew chanuth, Canosa sits on the right bank of the Ofanto river and is nearly 20 kilometers from the Adriatic Sea. The town sits upon the Murgia plateau, between 105 and 140 meters above sea level, the city is built on a mostly sandy or clay surface that covers a limestone layer which in turn constitutes the typical white-yellowish tuff and is easily collapsible. This morphological feature allowed the construction of artificial grottoes. The tuff derived from the excavations has gone towards the construction of buildings on the surface, there are risks of subsidence due to the presence of caves and underground channels typical of karst environments. The buildings of the town of Canosa are considered high risk for collapse, in recent years there have been many building failures and disruptions of roads. The area extends south to the slopes of the Murgia, and is mostly flat, the basins of Rendina and Locone contribute to the large area 150 square kilometers. Canosa has a temperate climate, mild spring and autumn. The monthly average temperature is influenced by the Murgiano Range from 7.7 °C in January. The average annual rainfall is 547 millimetres of rainfall, distributed mainly in the period from September to April, Climate classification of Canosa is Climate zone C. The Diomedea fields were one of the centers of the Dauni. Toppicelli on the Ofantina plain has revealed buildings and tombs of an aristocracy that also seem related to this group. Excavations have also discovered metal and amber designs which appear Etruscan, canusion became an important commercial center for craftsman, especially of ceramics and pottery. Probably settled by the Pelasgians, it became a Greek polis by the time of the development of Magna Grecia, following Hannibals 216 BC victory over the consuls Paullus and Varro at nearby Cannae, Canosa protected the fleeing remnants of the Roman army within its walls
9.
Ruvo di Puglia
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Ruvo di Puglia is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, that is essentially devoted to agriculture, wine and olive growing. It is part of the Murge karst landscape, ruvos territory is known for its vineyards, olive groves and sowable fields, and is one of the largest in the province of Bari. Very interesting is its area, with many downy oak trees. Two important caves to mention are the Grave della Ferratella, and they are located near the wide and green Ferratella Lama which has to be considered as the Gate of the National Park af Alta Murgia. The most ancient archaeological findings from the date to the 9th century BC. The area was settled by the Peucetians, the painted Tomb of the Dancers is an important archeological find which is evidence for their presence. In the 3rd century BC it commerced with the Greater Greece, Etruria, under the Roman Empire it was first a military stronghold and later a municipum, then it was ruled by the Byzantines, the Saracens and the Normans. Later it was part of the county of Conversano, after the Aragonese and French dominations it was a fief of the Carafa family, until the abolition of feudalism in 1806. The Cathedral is an example of Apulian Romanesque architecture. The façade has three portals and numerous decorations, depicting Christian symbols as well as griffins and other fantastic figures, the interior has a nave and two aisles ending with a transept. Under the church are the remains of the Palaeo-Christian church and Roman tombs, palazzo Jatta Church of the Madonna di Calendano, in the frazione of the same name. Official website Web page about the landscape of Ruvo Tourist Audio guide APP for smartphones
10.
Trani
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Trani listen is a seaport of Apulia, in southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea,40 kilometres by railway West-Northwest of Bari. The town has become one of the capital cities of the new Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. The city of Turenum appears for the first time in the Tabula Peutingeriana, the name, also spelled Tirenum, was that of the Greek hero Diomedes. The city was occupied by the Lombards and the Byzantines. First certain news of a settlement in Trani, however. The most flourishing age of Trani was the 11th century, when it became a see in place of Canosa. Its port, well placed for the Crusades, then developed greatly, in the year 1063 Trani issued the Ordinamenta et consuetudo maris, which is the oldest surviving maritime law code of the Latin West. There was also Jewish community in Trani, which was under the protection of the king until it was given to the Archbishop Samarus during the reign of Henry VI at the end of the 12th century. In that period many great families from the main Italian Maritime Republics established themselves in Trani, Trani, in turn, maintained a consul in Venice from 12th century. The presence of other consulates in many northern Europe centres, even in England and Netherlands, shows Tranis trading, emperor Frederick II built a massive castle in Trani. Under his rule, in the early 13th century, the city reached its highest point of wealth, there was some economic progress during the nineteenth century, and by 1881 the population had reached 25,647. Trani at this time was an important trading point for wines, fruits, the great talmudist Rabbi Moses ben Joseph di Trani was born in Thessaloniki, three years after his family had fled there from Trani due to antisemitic persecution. Trani entered a crisis under the Anjou and Aragonese rule, as its Jewish component was persecuted under Dominican pressure. Under the House of Bourbon, however, Trani recovered a certain splendour, thanks to the improved condition of Southern Italy economy. Trani was province capital until the Napoleonic age, when Joachim Murat deprived it of this status in favour of Bari, in 1799, moreover, the French troops provoked a massacre of Tranis population, as it had adhered to the Neapolitan Republic. The Scolanova Synagogue survives and, after centuries as a church, has been rededicated as a synagogue. The church of SantAnna is another medieval former synagogue, located by the Adriatic Coast, between Barletta and Bisceglie, Trani borders with the municipalities of Andria, Barletta, Bisceglie and Corato, in the Province of Bari. Trani has lost its old city walls and bastions, but the 13th-century fort has been restored as a museum
listen (help·info)) is a city and comune in Apulia (southern Italy). It is an agricultural and service center, producing wine, olives and almonds. It is the fourth-largest municipality in the Apulia region (behind Bari, Taranto, and Foggia) and the largest municipality of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani.[2] It is known for the 13th-century Castel del Monte.
Alberobello, Italy
