The museum, opened recently after a long period of restoration, is part of the Provincial Archaeological Museum and houses some of the most significant archaeological finds in Puglia.
The itinerary is enriched by the presence of some findings, some of them pertaining to the history of the monastery of St. Scholastica (sarcophagus of the abbess Guisanda Sebaste and tombstone of the Abbess Adriana Gerumda), others from the historical museum collections, leads guests to discover the old history of the place, even with the help of movies and architectural projections.
In a fascinating journey back in time, you will be able to view the remains of the surviving Byzantine church, known as the dedication to Saints John and Paul, which was demolished to make way for the military post wanted by the Duchess of Bari and Queen of Poland, Bona Sforza. Belonging to the oldest part of the monastery of St. Scholastica, the church has a three naves with apses and central dome. The archaeological survey has revealed, in addition to sections of the perimeter walls and the bases of the pillars dividing the nave, the beautiful floor level in limestone blocks arranged in geometric scores, where the careful restoration has highlighted the rigorous decorative weaving.
The visit in the bastion offers a glimpse of the rich archaeological stratification present in the whole complex of St. Scholastica, with witnesses ranging from the Bronze Age village (II millennium BC) to the remains of the city Peucezia first and then Roman. Very interesting are also the remains of the ancient city wall, dating from the late fourth sec. bC, surfaced in several places within the complex of St. Scholastica. Related to the Byzantine period are the traits visible in the bastion where large tufa blocks of the original fortification Peucezia were reused in combination with limestone blocks of smaller size.
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