Description
Altamura is a town in the province of Bari about 69,500 inhabitants partially in the area of the Alta Murgia National Park.
The remote origins of the buildings are demonstrated by the important discovery of what later was renamed The Man of Altamura, the Dinosaur Quarry besides the settlement of La Croce and La Necropoli, dating back to the Bronze Age.
Altamura is now known all over the world mainly for its bread, protected by the DOP, and its important paleontological discoveries.
What to see
Testimony to the excellence of religious city is the Cathedral of St. Maria Assunta, built in 1232 by Frederick II of Swabia.
The Legend says that their Federico II hid a treasure in one of its pillars so that in case of distruction it could be used for the reconstruction of the building.
Some main examples of civil architecture, however, are worth mentioning Palazzo De Angelis-Viti, the oldest of the city, which was the home of the Orsini Del Balzo, Baldassarre Palace, Martini Palace and Melodia Palace, all inhabited by the noble families of the city.
Among the archaeological sites, the Dinosaur Quarry, in which about 30,000 dinosaur footprints were found dating from the Late Cretaceous, the Megalithic Walls and the mounds.
Among the natural areas, the Pulo of Altamura, a karst dolina, which reaches 95 meters in the deepest.