Tour of the ancient town of Bovino

Duration

2 hours

Tour Type

Meeting point: Tourist InfoPoint - addressed as “Pro Loco-InfoPoint Bovino”, C.so Vittorio Emanuele, 1 (looking at “Villa Comunale”, the municipal park of Bovino)

With this two-hour guided tour, immerse yourself in the charm of the old town of Bovino: among the cobblestone streets and houses adorned with coats of arms and portals. You will visit the Cathedral, the Ducal Palace, the Civic-Archaeological Museum and the Diocesan Museum.

This guided tour will lead you to the discovery of one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, famous as “the village with eight hundred portals”: Bovino’s historic center is characterized by the harmony of the urban structure between the cobblestone streets and houses adorned with coats of arms and portals. Not to be missed are the panoramic viewpoints, which reveal themselves to the attentive and curious visitors with their great beauty and charm. Along the streets of the historic center, you will come across the emblematic places of the village that has an ancient history, including the seven churches, in particular the oldest church of San Pietro (1099) and the remains of the ancient Roman walls.

The Civic-Archaeological Museum “C.G. Nicastro” collects the testimonies of this history which has its roots in the Neolithic, represented by the Anthropomorphic Stones (the “Stele Antropomorfe”), and witnesses the period of great development and wealth in Roman times when the ancient Vibinum became a Roman colony and was recognized as a municipal city, adorned with splendid temples, forums, baths and an Aqueduct whose remains can still be admired today.

The Cathedral represents the heart of the ancient Christian faith of the village. It is the emblem of the Romanesque period in Apulia, with the first Gothic reflections that master Zano impressed on the façade back in 1231; inside the Cappellone di San Marco d’Eca is noteworthy, consecrated in 1197 and dedicated to the patron saint of the city, preserving its relics in the eighteenth-century altar.

The Ducal Palace is the symbol of the presence of the Guevara family, dukes of Bovino for three centuries until 1961. It stands on the ruins of the ancient castle, from which rises the Norman tower “a cavaliere” of the eleventh century: built by Count Drogone, the castle was later enlarged by Frederick II and in the seventeenth century transformed by the Guevara family in a majestic palace adorned by two Hanging Gardens (the “Giardini Pensili”) placed on two levels and surrounded by crenellated walls. The Ducal Palace houses the Diocesan Museum which preserves the treasure of the Cathedral and works of art of particular value as “The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian” of the seventeenth century attributed to Mattia Preti, “The Crucifixion of St. Peter” of the seventeenth century (school of Caravaggio), and the precious reliquary of the Holy Thorn.

At the end of the tour, it is strongly recommended the lunch break at one of the restaurants of the city, which offers typical dishes of the country tradition strictly at km 0.