The best MTB trails around Stornarella

Among the largest in southern Italy, the dome of the cathedral of San Pietro Apostolo in Cerignola towers over the city and is visible from the surrounding areas.

Cerignola is an Italian town of 60,000 inhabitants in the province of Foggia in Puglia, located in the Ofanto valley south of the Tavoliere. It is the largest town in the Puglia region and in all of southern Italy.

The cathedral of San Pietro Apostolo (or Duomo Tonti) is the undisputed symbol of the city. Since the Mother Church had become insufficient for the population of Cerignola, the need arose to design and build a new religious building that could fulfill this task. In 1855, the wealthy Cerignolano Paolo Tonti donated all the proceeds derived from the income of his possessions in order to build a new cathedral. In 1870, after making some changes, the engineer Alvino saw his project approved, for a cost estimate of approximately 127,000 ducats. Construction began in June 1873, with the laying of the first stone. In 1876, the engineer Alvino died and the task passed to the engineer Giuseppe Pisanti, who prepared a further project. The inauguration of the cathedral took place, although construction was not completed, in October 1934 and inherited the titles of cathedral and parish of San Pietro Apostolo from the ancient Mother Church. In September 1986, the church was elevated to the cathedral of the diocese of Cerignola-Ascoli-Satriano and again in April 1998 it was elevated to a minor basilica. From the first Saturday after Easter to the second Monday of October, the icon of the Madonna di Ripalta, patron saint of the city, is kept here.

The cultural center of the city is the Teatro Francesco Saverio Mercadante, located in the center of the city's nightlife. The building was inaugurated in 1868 and is still today one of the most important monuments for the city of Cerignola, which perceived the construction of the theater as a need. The theater season, which mainly consists of prose and children's theater performances, is managed in collaboration with the Pugliese Public Theater. The Theater is located in the heart of the city and this has favored the proliferation of numerous activities in Piazza Matteotti, making it a key place for city entertainment.

Did you know that there were also Romans in Cerignola? The milestone LXXXI (81st mile) marks part of the Via Traiana, which takes its name from the emperor Marco Ulpius Trajan; these, in 109 AD, for the Benevento-Brindisi route abandoned the old route of the Regina Viarum for routes already in use in the Tavoliere delle Puglie, renaming it Via Traiana. In the upper part of the Milestone, in limestone, we read the inscribed number "LXXXI", while the epigraphic field reports: Imp(erator) Caesar / divi Nervae f(ilius) / Nerva Traianus / Aug(ustus) Germ(anicus) Dacic(us) / pont(ifex) max(imus) tr(ibunicia) pot(estate) / XIII imp(erator ) VI co(n)s(ul) V / p(ater) p(atriae) / viam to Benevento / Brundisium pecun(ia) / sua fecet The emperor Caesar / son of the divine Nerva / Nerva Trajan / Augustus Germanicus Dacian / pontiff maximus with the power of tribune / thirteen times / six times emperor / five times consul / father of the country / built the road at his own expense / from Benevento to Brindisi

The Incoronata Regional Park is a protected natural area of 1000 hectares in the Tavoliere delle Puglie, a few kilometers from Foggia. It preserves a forest of centuries-old downy oaks, lapped by the Cervaro torrent and is crossed by numerous paths that immerse themselves in the greenery of nature, however not very suitable for being covered by road bikes. Inside the protected area there is also the sanctuary of the Madonna Incoronata, a pilgrimage destination for devotees of the Black Madonna.

The Sanctuary of the Incoronata is a Catholic place of worship dedicated to the Black Madonna, who appeared in the year 1001 to a count and a shepherd in the Cervaro wood. Every year, on the last Saturday of April, the feast of the apparition is celebrated with a ride of angels and the offering of oil for the votive lamp. The sanctuary has a bronze crown hanging from the dome, an organ of 2000 pipes and the title of minor basilica.

Cerignola is a beautiful town in the Apulian hinterland on the southern edge of the Tavoliere delle Puglie. Of particular interest are the Cathedral of San Pietro Apostolo, also known as Duomo Tonti, and the Fosse Granarie, an absolutely unique archaeological area.