Tourist Attraction in Trani:
Cattedrale di Trani

The Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is the main place of Catholic worship in the city of Trani, in Puglia. It is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie and has dignity of minor basilica. This is an example of Apulian Romanesque architecture. Its construction is linked to the vicissitudes of Saint Nicola Pellegrino, dating back to the time of Norman domination. It was built using the stone of Trani, a typical building material in the area: it is a limestone tuff, The church stands out for its vivid transept and for the use of the arch in the passage under the bell tower, a phenomenon not widespread in Romanesque architecture. History describes how Nicola Pellegrino landed in Trani in the imminence of death, after which several miracles took place, so that he was canonized on the initiative of the Archbishop of Byzantium, on the permission of Urban II. Begun in 1099, the church was built on the basis of the oldest church in Santa Maria della Scala. A first 4th century worship building, as evidenced by recent archaeological excavations, would arise on the area where the Cathedral is currently located. Subsequently, the church of Santa Maria was built, inside which a chapel was built to house the relics of San Leucio, which were stolen from Brindisi in the eighth century. The relics of St Nicholas would be located at the bottom of the church. The cathedral was then consecrated before the completion. The decisive phase of the construction was presumably between 1159 and 1186 under the banner of Bishop Bertrand II, while towards 1200 the completion was to be considered achieved, except for the bell tower. Through the double ramp you access a ballroom located in front of the façade, where in the center of a blind arch is a carefully ornate Romanesque portal. The style betrays Arab architectural influence. The central bronze door is the work of Barisano da Trani and was built in 1175: this is one of the most interesting examples of the genre in southern Italy. The original door is exposed inside the building, while a faithful replica was inaugurated on the outside, which was inaugurated in 2012. Three windows and a small rosette on the central nave decorate the façade, with their openings decorated with zoomorphic figures, which give it some plasticity. As the shape of the façade suggests, the church follows the architectural scheme of the three naves basilica. In addition, the fact that entry is raised suggests the idea of ​​the existence of a crypt of some importance. A visit inside will reveal that this is actually a double church. From the back, the building is bordered by a massive transetto facing the sea and equipped with three apses. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest elements of the originality of the church. This part of the building is also decorated with blind arches in Romanesque style. Above these, the side facades are decorated, south by two mulberries and a rosette, and north by two mulberries and a quadrifora. The elegant bell tower next to the façade was erected only afterwards, essentially between 1230 and 1239, but the completion, with the construction of the floors above the second, was shortly after the mid-thirteenth century under bishop Giacomo Tura Scottini. Typically Romanesque is the lightening of the mass going upwards, obtained with the architectural design of the openings that are becoming larger and rising upwards: from the double window passes to that trifora, Below the bell tower, a wide arch in the sixth acute creates a somewhat unusual architectural effect, since it significantly dematerializes the base on which the overlying mass of the tower is discharged.

Attractions in Trani