CATHEDRAL

The Cathedral was built between the XII and XIII centuries, during the Norman dominion in Apulia. It is the heart of the historical centre of Ruvo di Puglia.
The Church, which is isolated compared to the urban context, presents a visible level of the churchyard which  is lower than the road network of the city. The different revisions and modifications of the religious building, during the later centuries, didn’t remove the original roman-gothic style.
The structure simpleness and austerity and its sacred furniture emphasize the roman-gothic framework of the Church. Actually in the last centuries the Cathedral has been the object of different transformations.
Between the XVI and XVII centuries some chapels were opened but at the beginning of the XX century they were closed for the restaurations.
In 1749 the ceiling at trusses was subjected to a considerable change: it was covered with a wooden false ceiling having golden filler and paint, which was made by the artist Luca Alvese and then removed in 1918.
At the beginning of the XX century chapels of the two aisles were pull down for many reasons, such as the lower level of the churchyard because it needed the building of stairs to reach the chapels.
The removal of the wooden false ceiling and the destruction of chapels are due to some ideological reasons: it needed to maintain the original roman-gothic style of the Cathedral.

Cathedral	Cathedral's portail
Cathedral's Bell Tower

 

HYPOGEUM

Between 1976 and 1979 the architect Mauro Civita has conducted some excavations under the Cathedral. These excavations helped to reconstruct the history of the site bringing to light testimonies of Peuceta, Roman and Medieval Ages.

 

Exacavacations		Ruins of Peuceta Age
Ruins of Roman Age
Ruins of Medieval Age