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It is a maritime city, very “Apulian,” which is to say animated, a little noisy, and urbanistically, disordered. But it has a beautiful historic center, very “lived-in” and it pleasing to visit and rich with things to see. Bareltta is also a good place to stop and taste the intense favors of seafood cuisine. If
impressionist painting is also of interest, or if you just want to
insert a pictorial pause amidst your wanderings, then plan a tour
of the Castello di Barletta, where the paintings of
Giuseppe di Nittis, an important painter of the 19th century, was born in Barletta in 1846, but worked most of his life in the stimulating environment of Impressionist Paris. His paintings of the beautiful world of the Parisian bourgeoisie are a festival for the eyes and a pleasant surprise in the houses of the late 19th century. On a good guided tour, you will get all the most important information. Here, we merely want to point to you the small paintings of the Apulian and Campanian landscapes showing the banks of the Ofanto river, the countryside, mount Vesuvius, and are remarkable for the extraordinary use of light, of which De Nittis proves himself the master.
The visit to the painting gallery will also give you a chance to see the magnificent castle of Barletta, which, facing the sea and constructed of white stone, provides a superb view of the blue of the Adriatic. Its underground vaults have a scenic grandeur that will leave you amazed.
Not far from the castle rises the Cathedral, which is particularly interesting because within the few meters that separate the main portal and the transept, you may observe in the form of the arches, the architectural transformation of the Middle Ages. The arches were indeed constructed at different times, and the original Romanesque design of the arches was later replaced with the Gothic style.Our region, for more than two hundred years, was traversed by throngs of crusaders who disembarked from here directly for the East.The port of Barletta, together with all the other Apulian ports, became an important point of departure for reaching the Holy Land by sea. Surviving from that time are hospices for the pilgrims, shelters, establishments of the hospitaler orders, and some churches.
The
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, its unusual architecture the
result of a mingling of artisans and local stone cutters, elements
imported from the East by the crusaders, and of the French Romanesque,
is evidence of that time and of the great influx of travelers and
European pilgrims who animated medieval Apulia.
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