Distributed for Haus Publishing
Old Puglia
Apulia (or Puglia) is the heel of Italy, stretching down from the spur of the Italian boot. Its landscape is often very beautiful and it has wonderful old cities with Romanesque cathedrals, Gothic castles and a great wealth of Baroque architecture, together with ’rupestrian’ churches that contain Byzantine frescoes. But, although far from inaccessible, until quite recently it was seldom visited by Anglo Saxons. Today, however, Apulia is becoming fashionable, ’an alternative to Tuscany’. It is featured on radio and television; travel supplements describe its beaches and its cooking, supermarkets stock Apulian wine, oil, bread and pasta. Yet almost nothing about the region has been published in English since the days of Norman Douglas and the Sitwells. One can find ’holiday histories’ of Tuscany, but there is no popular introduction to Apulian history, not even in Italian. Our book, which grew out of what was originally intended as a travel book, has been written to fill the gap by providing a simple, readable account.
Table of Contents
Foreword: Old Apulia
1 Introduction
Part I: The Gargano
2 The Gargano
3 Monte Sant’ Angelo
4The Norman Quest – of Apulia
5 San Giovanni Rotondo and Padre Pio
6 The Gargano Coast and the Tremiti
7 The Heretic from Ischitella
Part II: Hohenstaufen Country
8 “The Wonder of the World”
9 Castel del Monte
10 The Emperor’s Faithful Andria
11 The Land of Manfred
Part III: The Tavoliere
12 Foggia and the Tavoliere
13 The Tavoliere: Lucera, Troia and Cerignola
14 Life on the Old Tavoliere
15 Latifondismo
Part IV: The Adriatic Shore
16 Cathedral Cities on the Coast
17 King Ferrante’s Coronation at Barletta, 1459
18 Trani
Part V: Bari
19 The Catapans
20 Old Bari
21 Bari, 1647 – Revolution
22 New Bari
Part VI: The Murge
23 The Murge
24 Cities of the Murge
25 The Battle of Cannae, 216 BC
26 Maundy Thursday at Noicattaro
27 The Masserie
28 The Via Appia
29 Horace, the Apulian
30 Life at Altamura
Part VII: The Cave Dwellers
31 The Cave Dwellers
32 Gravina-in-Puglia
33 Matera
Part VIII: Trulli and the Difesa di Malta
34 Trulli
35 The Difesa di Malta
36 The Duel at Ostuni
37 Brigands
Part IX: Tàranto and Brìndisi
38 Classical Tàranto
39 Two Men from Taras
40 The Princes of Tàranto
41 The Travellers’ of Tàranto
42 Brìndisi
Part X: Lecce and the Baroque
43 Lecce
44 Don Cirò, the Bandit Priest
45 Baroque in the Salento
46 A Band of Brigands – the Vardarelli
47 Tarantismo
Part XI: Greek Apulia
48 The Byzantine Terra d’Òtranto
49 The Castle of d’Òtranto
50 Manduria
Part XII: Three Little Courts
51 Conversano
52 Martina Franca
53 Francavilla Fontana
Part XIII: Risorgimento?
54 The death of the Regno
55 The Brigands’ War
56 “A war of extermination”
Part XIV: Epilogue
57 Apulia Today
Acknowledgements
Further Reading
Short Chronology
Rulers of Apulia
Historical Gazetteer
1 Introduction
Part I: The Gargano
2 The Gargano
3 Monte Sant’ Angelo
4The Norman Quest – of Apulia
5 San Giovanni Rotondo and Padre Pio
6 The Gargano Coast and the Tremiti
7 The Heretic from Ischitella
Part II: Hohenstaufen Country
8 “The Wonder of the World”
9 Castel del Monte
10 The Emperor’s Faithful Andria
11 The Land of Manfred
Part III: The Tavoliere
12 Foggia and the Tavoliere
13 The Tavoliere: Lucera, Troia and Cerignola
14 Life on the Old Tavoliere
15 Latifondismo
Part IV: The Adriatic Shore
16 Cathedral Cities on the Coast
17 King Ferrante’s Coronation at Barletta, 1459
18 Trani
Part V: Bari
19 The Catapans
20 Old Bari
21 Bari, 1647 – Revolution
22 New Bari
Part VI: The Murge
23 The Murge
24 Cities of the Murge
25 The Battle of Cannae, 216 BC
26 Maundy Thursday at Noicattaro
27 The Masserie
28 The Via Appia
29 Horace, the Apulian
30 Life at Altamura
Part VII: The Cave Dwellers
31 The Cave Dwellers
32 Gravina-in-Puglia
33 Matera
Part VIII: Trulli and the Difesa di Malta
34 Trulli
35 The Difesa di Malta
36 The Duel at Ostuni
37 Brigands
Part IX: Tàranto and Brìndisi
38 Classical Tàranto
39 Two Men from Taras
40 The Princes of Tàranto
41 The Travellers’ of Tàranto
42 Brìndisi
Part X: Lecce and the Baroque
43 Lecce
44 Don Cirò, the Bandit Priest
45 Baroque in the Salento
46 A Band of Brigands – the Vardarelli
47 Tarantismo
Part XI: Greek Apulia
48 The Byzantine Terra d’Òtranto
49 The Castle of d’Òtranto
50 Manduria
Part XII: Three Little Courts
51 Conversano
52 Martina Franca
53 Francavilla Fontana
Part XIII: Risorgimento?
54 The death of the Regno
55 The Brigands’ War
56 “A war of extermination”
Part XIV: Epilogue
57 Apulia Today
Acknowledgements
Further Reading
Short Chronology
Rulers of Apulia
Historical Gazetteer