Art & Architecture of Puglia – Barletta e Trani

After a day of walking and discovering Bari, our tour of Puglia now shifts to a series of day trips. The bus ride Barletta (pop 941,883 in 2025) is just over an hour. We board the bus under grey clouds. But the mist clears in time for our arrival, and we get wonderful views through the park surrounding the Castello Svevo (10th-16th centuries).

The Duomo di Barletta (di Santa Maria Maggiore, 12th-14th centuries) is west of the Castello. A system of buttresses supports the cascading octagonal shells of the Gothic apsidal and hold the symbols of the Four Evangelists.

 

 

The north facade is sparsely pierced by scuppers and overhanging sculptures, including San Giovanni's eagle and missal. One or two of the door and window arches are decorated with chimeric reliefs. We walk under the arch of the torre campanaria and find more scattered fragments on the other side.

We turn the corner where a single intact lion protrudes. The front (west) facade is basic in composition, but intriguing in combination. The central portal is a classical design, with boars' heads featured on the plinths and in the wreath in the tympanum.

Above, a recessed Gothic window with richly carved archivolts and four more grotrsques and a large rosone, also beautifully carved, but with simple divided glass lites. Five additional figures project around the stonework.

On either side, an arched doorway sits under a double-lite window. Decorative brackets line the edge of the gables. The windows incorporate some lovely stone tracery. The arch over the north doors includes looping vegetal motifs entwined with animals and other figures. The arch at the south door shows tumble of men in struggling with a variety of beasts (is it a boar hunt?).

 

 

 

 

Like yesterday's churches in Bari, the interior is extremely clean (too clean?). There is a ring of netting just below the triforium indicating that there is ongoing work. There is a four-bay arcade between the nave and aisles, with the triforium and a clerestory. There's not a true crossing, but a set of six piers with higher arches in front of and encompassing the chancel. These two systems illustrate two eras of development, with the lower Romanesque arcade giving way to the taller Gothic.

The ciborio (13th century) with the Crocifisso altar is on a raised level. It has a greyish cast, like the one in San Nicola in Bari, but with trefoil punch-outs in the large octagonal hood. A narrow deambulatorio winds behind the apse, and contains a series of chapels, including the "Madonna della Sfida" (Paolo de Serafinis, 1387) in the center.

To the left of the ciborio (Evangelist) is the romanedra arcivescovile (Nunzio Saracino, c1400), supported on a pair of stone lions and framed by dark, paneled wood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The skies look almost blue as we make our way southwest on the Corso Giuseppi Garibaldi. The streets are astonishingly clean, too.

The Baroque facade of the Chiesa del Purgatorio (18th century) catches our attention, but the street is too narrow to allow easy examination. A silhouette of fire burns atop of the iron gate, between two low markers with skulls and bones. In the relief above the door, three souls plead within the flames.

 

 

We turn northwest on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and are caught by the presence of the Colosso di Barletta (5th century). The monumental bronze commands a widened walkway beside the arcaded buttresses of the Basilica del Santo Sepolcro (12th century).

We continue west and descend into what must have been a covered entry portico, then enter.

 

 

The interior rivals the Duomo and includes a narthex. It seems about as tall despite the lack of a triforium, perhaps becasue the aisles and the arch at the altar are higher. In any case, it looks more fully Gothic, with pointed arches down the nave and aisles. There are six bays to the domed chancel.

The first vault on our left retains its starry cover. There are also scnes with saints, and an Annunciation (?) at the top, though the image of Mary is missing. The next fresco in the series might be the Circumcision (a rough restoration), so we can imagine more scenes of the Marian cycle around the Basilica and more stars.

Unfortunately, there are only a few remaining frescos. At the back of the main altar, there is a band of saints' robes, the heads are missing – might be the Twelve Apostles (?). And there are some surviving images of the Madonna and Child.

Above the narthex is a high choir, with an unusual conical balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outside the Basilica, the group pauses at the nearby cafes for our 'loo' break. From across the street, we focus on the details on the north facade and the Colosso – the corbeled roofs over the vaulted bays and the 'personalized' modillions along the cornice.

Walking north from the Basilica, the rain gradually restarts. We arrive to the Pinoteca Giuseppe De Nittis (Palazzo della Marra, 16th century) as the drops quicken, then head for the cover of the Baroque entryway.

We recall our introduction to Giuseppe De Nittis at yesterday's visit to the Pinoteca – a Salon painter turned Impressionist.

 

 

Our tour opens with three unusual portraits. The "Donna di Colore" (1883) is a pastel drawing of a Senegalese woman with a bright orange scarf and wrap. The skin tones are well judged, with great attention paid to the rounded structures around the mouth and chin and the highlights on the side of her face. We can feel the care in the strokes of the pastels as the artist works around the shoulders and breasts, then breaks down in chaotic energy at the bottom of the composition.

"Ritratto di Vecchia" (1882) is similarly empathetic oil painting, with bursts of green around the solemn woman to suggest a landscape. The dark cloak and bonnet seem to weight her down. And the "Testa di Uomo" (1871) is a tiny watercolor of a local in a fez, full of personality and attitude.

Two landscapes. "Golfo di Napoli: Riflessi Solari" (oil, 1872) and "Place de Pyramide" (pastel, 1876), are studies in minimal work for maximum result, especially he buildings and the people in the foregrounds. "Westminster Bridge" (oil, 1878) is reminiscent of yesterday's "Westminster" (c1875), with lovely lighting effects in the clouds.

"Cantiere" (pastel, 1883) and "Tra i Paraventi" (oil, 1879) are at extremes in subject matter, both drawn with an Impressionist's quick hand and penetrating eye: a construction site and a young woman with her fan. The contrast of light and dark in both are equally dramatic, especially the sheer quality and bright white trim of the woman's lace top rendered with a few energetic strokes.

 

 

 

 

Upstairs, there is a special exhibit, "I Macchiaioli", connecting De Nittis with a group of early modernists based in Tuscany. The show includes pieces such as "Riposo al Rezzo" (Cristiano Banti, 1864) and "Via di Ravenna" (Telemaco Signorini, c1876).

In this context, we see work by De Nittis, such as a series of small studies (1864) and the comical "Au Revoir!" (1879), which reveal the artist going from sketch to finished product. A group of small portraits follow, providing examples of his own light touch and interest in 'capturing a moment': "Studio di Uomo" (watercolor, 1872) and "Bonne" (oil, 1883), "Studio di Donna a Mezzo Busto" (watercolor, 1871) and "Studio di Donna di Profilo" (watercolor, 1871), "Donna con Ventaglio, Vista da Dietro – Dolce Minaccia" (ink, c1875) and "Donna con Ventaglio – Gabrielle" (ink, c1875).

Finally, a separate room is dedicated to "La strada da Napoli a Brindisi" (1872), with studies and sketches along with the final painting. We can feel the arid heat coming off the canvas, the dusty road underfoot – welcome on a day like today.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back down the coast to Bari, the bus stops in Trani (pop 54,673 in 2025). The group walks past the Castello Svevo (13th century), and the Cattedrale di Trani (di Maria Santissima Assunta, 11th-12th centuries) comes into view. The Cattedrale and its torre campanaria (13th century, rebuilt 2012) is stunningly sited at the water's edge and commands an open plaza along the seawall, the Piazza Duomo.

Being next to the Mare Adriatico, it makes sense that the church is elevated nearly a full story above the Piazza, with a two-sided stone staircase and elevated terrazza. Even the torre campanaria hovers on a high arched base. Our Director, however, does not believe that the church has ever flooded.

But the group walks past it on our way to the Porto di Trani in search of lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we reconvene near the Cattedrale; while waiting, we have time to make a circuit around the building. The feature windows of the main (west) facade are encircled by protruding sculptural blocks: elephants, lions, griffins, and other chimeras.

Other worn blocks around the terrazza also suggest this church also had a covered portico at one point – there a broken spring blocks at the ends of the two four-bay false-arcades and column bases at the stone rail.

The buttresses on the north facade measure seven bays to the tall crossing, where the pitched roof and gable ends don't quite meet. At the east, the semi-circular apse and the exedrae for two later chapels complete the length of the church.

There are more feature windows at the center of the transept and the apse, with a saint riding a horse (donkey?), lions, and cows. The modillions at the cornice of the crossing are also carved with rosettes, acanthus leaves, animals, and other embellishments.

 

 

 

 

 

The transept on the south side includes a large rose window, with a beautiful carved tondo at the center. A sculpted block with two saints (?) and a bull sits in the intersection of the two relieving arches. This is repeated is the 'valley' between the buttress arches, with lions (?) in various poses.

Having passed under the towers of San Nicola in Bari and the Duomo in Barletta (above), the archway base of the torre campanaria displays engineering at another level – the height of both the tower and the arch are extraordinary and lifted by their solitary siting.

 

 

 

The group reconvenes on the terrazza and our Director begins his analysis of the main portal. The canted arch and surround are fantastic examples of Romanesque stonecutting, with coiling and arcing vine-like lines encircling birds, lizards, and horned creatures. At the base of the thin columns and the surround are men and animals wrestling with each other while they support the structure.

The doors are paneled in copper, with incredible figures and scenes sculpted by Barisano da Trani (1175-80). The lower registers depict archers and warriors in battle with clubs and shields. There are two lions' heads as 'knobs'; San Giorgio (vs dragon) rides on the left and San Eustachio (w stag) on the right.

The upper registers include images of the Twelve Apostles as well as San Paolo ("PAULUS"), the Deposition, the Anastasis (right side), and San Nicola Pellegrino (for whom the church is dedicated). Legend says the small figure at San Nicola's feet is Barisano.

The two panels show Cristo (with symbols of the Four Evangelists) and the Vergine enthroned and framed by mandorlas.

 

 

 

 

 

We enter the Cattedrale from the doors below stair arch and into the cripta, which is at the level of the Piazza. As expected, there are seven bays to a windowed apse. Faded frescos (14th-15th centuries) remain in the shallow chapels, we can make out: San Pietro (keys), the Madonna col Bambino, and San Teodoro.

The chapel at the far right is the Sepolcro di Passasepe Lambertino (Giovanni di Francia, early 14th century), with gloriously intact frescos. In the Gothic groin vault, we see San Matteo (angel) and San Marco (lion) and the Vergine. Above the altar is the Madonna con Bambino e due Santi.

Through a pair of doors, we find the Cripta di San Nicola Pellegrino, where a glass retable protects the relics of the pilgrim. The room is packed with thinner, taller columns and vaults, under the transverse structure of the crossing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nave and aisles of the Cattedrale are separated by a thick arcade of laterally arranged paired columns. This gives the structure remarkable verticality, with a tall triforium and clerestory. The arch of the altar and the main apse reach the full three-story height.

To the right (Epistle), the rosone glows over an enormous organ. The main altar, as at Santo Sepolcro, is a simple suspended Crocifisso.

Barisano's original doors are exhibited in the opposite corner. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we leave Trani, we cross the Piazza to the Palazzo Lodispoto (17th century, under renovation), currently home to the Fondazione SECA and the Museo della Macchina per Scrivere – a typewriter museum. The upper floors house the Museo dell'Arcidiocesi.

This is a great place to unwind. There are sofas and a book shop on the ground floor, then the macchine on the next floor, then the dioscesano. There is a staggering number of typewriters, with all kinds of languages. There are two Japanese typewriters and other devices that produce diverse type forms such as Braille and Hebrew (right-to-left).

In the basement, there are special exhibits for 'toy' writers and a gallery of Olivetti products – including an ad campaign by Malcolm Grear.

 

 

 

The group moves back along the seawall. The sky remains cloudy, deadening the sunset, though we avoided any serious rain. The lights are on in the torre, in the Piazza, and on the breakwaters, but not on the Cattedrale (top image). It's quite a sight, even on a grey day.

Back in Bari (pop 315,986 in 2025) the holiday displays shimmer on the shopping street of Via Sparano and in front of the Chiesa di San Ferdinano. We go off in different directions for dinner. On the way home from a late gelato, the neon crosses on Santa Maria degli Angeli and Maria Santissima del Rosario are reminders of true Christmas lights.