Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta

Historical, artistic and religious heritage

It is dedicated to the Assumption, built around the 9th century and renovated in the thirteenth century. It is declared a national monument in 1890 and co-cathedral in 1986. The style is typically Romanesque and its façade, “a capanna” (an expression meant to indicate that the width is greater than its height), in squared stone ashlars, is a magnificent example signed by the architect Zano, of French origin. There are also Gothic elements on the portals. The asymmetrical aspect is to attribute to the reconstruction after the terrible earthquake of 1930.

The interior, a Latin cross, has three naves divided by columns, probably coming from Roman remains; their origin is varied, in fact each column has a capital of a different age and shape. It has an altar in marble and Trani stone and a seventeenth-century wooden choir. In the right aisle, in a shrine, there is the eighteenth-century devotional statue of Santa Maria di Valleverde, which is added to the thirteenth-century wooden statue kept in the homonymous Sanctuary.

In the co-cathedral there is also the monument to the blessed Antonio Lucci, bishop of Bovino of the XVIII century, beatified by Pope John Paul II. It preserves “The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian”, a work attributed to Mattia Preti, a disciple of Caravaggio. On the left side of the cathedral and in a more backward position is the Palazzo Ducale.

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