The Altamura Cathedral is the only one created from scratch in 1232 by Emperor Frederick II of Swabia and was very different from the one we see today. A legend tells the origin of this church as ex voto of the emperor, who left hidden inside a column a treasure so important to be able to reconstruct the church itself in the event of collapse.
The façade is finely decorated with the magnificent fourteenth-century stone portal carved with scenes from the life of Christ and the lintel is decorated with the depiction of the Last Supper.
On the sides of the portal there are the typical lions of the 1500s, the same period of the rose window. There's an upward momentum due to the presence of two massive bell towers in front of which it is allocated a small loggia with statues of the Assumption and the Saints Peter and Paul.
Along the perimeter walls are the external "matronei" loggias and set against the final part we see the Clock Tower, become landmark for the whole square.
The interior is characterized by a baroque overflowing - with Rococo stucco, gilding, marble, the beautiful paintings of the Neapolitan school artists (Netti, Maraschino, Morelli just to name a few).
Noteworthy are the impressive nativity scene represented using the stone, attributed to the Neapolitan school master Antonello Persio, the wooden statues of the 17th century cabinetmakers Altieri (Our Lady of Sorrows, the Christ on the cross and Christ down), the marble statue of St. Joseph of Bernini's workshop, the wooden altarpiece by Leonardo Castellano depicting the Assumption of the holy apostles, the imposing works of the 16th century like walnut inlay work of the choir, the Episcopal chair and the pulpit, and all the Neapolitan school altars of the 18th century, marble inlay works, the remarkable wooden coffered ceiling with the coat of arms of the ruling families under whose supervision the palatine church has always been.
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