Apulia / Romanesque Cathedrals

Towards the end of the 11th century Puglia constitutes a point of reference for thousands of pilgrims who come to pay homage to the remains of St. Nicholas (stolen in Bari in 1087) as well as for knights and their followers, who come from all over Europe. and stop at Monte Sant’Angelo for a visit to the sanctuary of San Michele and then head to the port of Brindisi, leaving for the first Crusade (1090).
Among those pilgrims and the people who followed the knights, many were artists and architects who remained in Puglia and, in the construction of the churches of this period, they brought those characteristics of the Romanesque architecture of European countries (France, Provence, Normandy, Germany, Spain) and of northern Italy (Lombardy, Pisa), which, reworked together with pre-existing elements of Arab and Byzantine art, gave rise to an autonomous and peculiar architectural form known as “Romanesque Pugliese”. 
There are over 60 Churches and Cathedrals built or rebuilt, in that period, in Apulian Romanesque. Among the best known: the Basilica of S. Nicola in Bari (1087), the Cathedral of Bitonto (11th century), the Cathedral of Trani (1099).
There are also numerous masterpieces of sculptural art and mosaics that adorn the Romanesque churches and cathedrals of Puglia.

Photos (top to bottom):
– Cathedral of Bitonto (BA)
– Cathedral of Trani (BAT)