The best walks and hikes around Gravina In Puglia

From here, the view opens onto a picturesque landscape: on one side, you can admire the imposing Ponte della Gravina, an 18th-century engineering feat that connects the two banks of the canyon, and on the other, the deep ravine with its natural landscape. In the distance, you can make out the outline of the historic center, perched on the hill.

Really? Groundbreaking new highlight? It already exists x-times...

Honestly? It's stupid to constantly create new highlights that already exist in one form or another. Why do you do that?

There are already several highlights where this photo could have been added. An overabundance of highlights is not useful. One "view" or, in case of doubt, the tenth "view" is not a useful highlight.

The Basilica Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta is the main church of the town and can be easily reached by visiting Gravina on foot. What characterizes the church is its unusual mix of different styles. This is closely related to the history of the church that was built in 1092 in Romanesque style. The church then went destroyed and was completely rebuilt only in 1508 with a more Renaissance style. Finally, it underwent numerous restorations in Baroque style between the 17th and 18th centuries. Externally, the church is divided into three naves and has a wonderful Romanesque rose window that has been preserved since the first construction. Internally, instead, the church consists of three naves from which you can access the side chapels and is decorated with a wonderful golden carved wooden ceiling. Under the church, then, it is possible to visit a second church dating back to 1500 known as "soccorpo della cattedrale" (cathedral's body) inside which it is possible to admire an altar and some frescoes dated between 1500 and 1600.

The Ducal Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio, known as the Church of Purgatory , was a place of worship dating back to the mid- 17th century located in the city of Gravina in Puglia at the entrance to the Cathedral Square for those arriving from Porta San Michele. The Church is called ducal because its construction, begun in 1649, took place thanks to the generosity and religiosity of the Dukes of Gravina, Ferdinando III Orsini and his wife Giovanna Francipane della Tolfa, parents of Pope Benedict XIII. It was dedicated to Santa Maria del Suffragio for the celebration of masses in suffrage for the souls in Purgatory . The Church of Purgatory is a pearl of religious architecture, it belongs to a specific category of Catholic places of worship, that of the Monti del Suffragio, which can be found in many other cities in Puglia . These are Churches dedicated to the cult of the dead: prayers and Holy Masses are aimed at the salvation of the souls of the deceased, assigning to the Monte del Suffragio a mediating function between the devotion of the living faithful and the conquest of the Celestial Kingdom by those who have passed on to a better life. On the facade of the Church you can read two inscriptions that clearly refer to the memento mori : “Quod tu es ego fui” I was what you are, “Tu eris quod ego sum” You will be what I am.

It is one of the oldest public libraries in Puglia, and could be defined as a true "secular temple" of knowledge and culture, strongly desired and enriched by enlightened representatives of the episcopate and local clergy. The most conspicuous donation in terms of book and financial heritage is due to the cardinal from whom it takes its name, Francesco Antonio Finy (1669-1743), a close collaborator of Pope Benedict XIII, who arranged for the assignment to the Chapter of the Cathedral of his rich personal library, including volumes of very high artistic and historical value, which increased the endowment of the old collection, and 2000 ducats for the construction of a "vase" to place the library, previously located inside the sacristy of the cathedral, with its furnishings. It was officially founded in 1686 by Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Orsini, then Archbishop of Benevento, who ascended to the papal throne in 1724 with the name of Benedict XIII, who acted as executor of the last will of the bishop of Gravina Domenico Cennini dei Salamandra, ruler of the diocese from 1645 to 1684, who had left a first substantial nucleus of his books. The collection was further enriched with donations from Archdeacon Donato Angelo Lettieri (1700) and Pope Benedict XIII (1729). In 1740 the construction was entrusted to the architect Donato Giannuzzi of Altamura and completed in 1743.

From a place of penance to a great church The church was known by the name of Santa Maria la Nuova and was a place for Augustinian nuns of Accom, penitents who came here from Palestine. From the end of 1400 until 1695 it remained abandoned until Monsignor del Ryos Culminares reopened it for worship with its current name which might be Chiesa Convento di Sant' Agostino or Chiesa di San Giovanni in Sant'Agostino. The church has a Latin cross plan with three naves defined by quadrilobate pillars, zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and phytomorphic capitals with large cross vaults. It was built in the classic local brown stone and inside it houses a statue of St. John the Baptist and numerous frescoes depicting various saints.