Historical Notes
A SUMMARY
The first traces of human presence on our territory date back at least 150,000 years ago, as proven by the remains of the Altamura Man discovered in 1993 in the Lamalunga cave. Some excavations carried out in the surrounding area, along the course of the Pisciulo stream, in the sinkhole dotted with caves called Pulo, in the locality of Iesce and in the locality of Casal Sabini, have brought to light traces of the stone, bronze and iron civilizations, which demonstrate how the area was populated in different eras.
According to an ancient legend, the first settlement was founded with the name of Altilia or Alter Troia. An ancient story, in fact, would date it back to Antello, a hero of Troy, who fled with Aeneas after the destruction of the city. While Aeneas continued his wanderings to Lazio, Antello stopped on our land. In any case, it can be said that there are no historical documents that indicate with certainty the original name of the city of Altamura before the year 1000. In past centuries, misleading information has been handed down that attributed the ancient names of Petilia and Altilia to Altamura. The birth of a Peucetian city on the top of the hill currently occupied by the urban center of Altamura, marks the grouping of villages scattered throughout the territory into a single center between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. The town was surrounded by a double and mighty ring of megalithic walls.
The era of Frederick II of Swabia
Destroyed in the early Middle Ages by Lombard and Saracen raids, the city was reborn to new splendor between 1220 and 1232, with the emperor Frederick II of Swabia. Out of devotion to the Madonna, Frederick built, in 1232, a large Cathedral, one of the four imperial basilicas present in Puglia and declared Altamura and its territory, a royal city, dependent only on the king. Frederick II (as confirmed by the epigraph under the white and red coat of arms of the city FEDERICUS ME REPARAVIT), gave a new face to the city, with military and economic objectives, well defended by a castle and a new wall. To make it inhabitable he also called people from neighboring countries, including Greeks and Jews from the areas of his kingdom, granting franchises and special privileges.
Many people then flocked, including Greeks, Arabs and Jews, who went to live in the neighborhoods of the ancient medieval village, alternating with narrow streets and Claustri, typical closed squares. There are over 80 of them and they were created almost spontaneously, due to the gathering together of families or ethnic groups, including Greeks, Moors and Jews, such as Claustro Giudecca, Claustro Cionno and so on. Claustro means "closed place".
There are two types: the Greek style one, with a rounded clearing with usually a well in the centre, and the Arab style one, like a small, narrow road, with a well at the end for collecting rainwater.
The cloister guaranteed the community life of the people, but also the defense because, being a dead end, it could be a trap for the attackers, where they could set ambushes: stones, oil or boiling water. Each community had its religious space.
Who was Frederick II of Swabia?
and the story continues......
The Lioness of Puglia
The territory of Altamura was a fief of various noble families, in particular the Orisini del Balzo and the Farnese (1538-1734), the latter commissioning the construction of numerous palaces and churches. In 1648 the insurrection of Masaniello in Naples involved many other cities of the kingdom in a movement against feudalism, including Altamura, which had firmly opposed the attempts at reconquest by Giangirolamo II Acquaviva d'Aragona, powerful count of Conversano. On that occasion, Altamura joined the Royal Neapolitan Republic and became self-governing. In 1748, Charles VII of Naples founded a university there, among the first ever in all of Southern Italy. In 1799 the city rebelled against the Bourbon government: the revolt, known as the Altamura Revolution, was finally repressed two days later and the city sacked by Fabrizio Ruffo's troops. During the Napoleonic era, however, the university was definitively closed (1811). The revolutionary spirit was also felt during the Risorgimento, so much so that Altamura was made the seat of the Bari Insurrectional Committee and, after the Unification of 1860, it was the seat of the first provisional capital of Puglia; it was from then on that it was called “Lioness of Puglia” for the courage shown during the rebellion against the Bourbons.
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