Andria, also known as a city of three towers, it’s a town of 99,785 inhabitants, headquarters of the newly created province of Barletta-Andria-Trani,in Apulia, Italy. The city lies on a slope below the Murge, just 10 km from the Adriatic.
There are many different legends regarding its origins, but they do not have certainty, the first and irrefutable confirmation of its existence dates back only to 1040 or so, when the Norman Peter I, Count of Trani, raising it to re-founded the civitas, and transforming in a real city fortified with twelve towers, three gates and a fortress on the highest point.
Andria is today one of the most populous of Puglia, it’s highly developed in the agricultural sector, with a particular propensity for growing olives and vines and the production of milk products, followed by commerce, crafts and a constantly growing industry, especially with regard to manufacturing and clothing.
What to see
The old town is a maze of narrow streets where there are the monuments of special architectural and artistic value.
Outside of the town, at the top of a hill, stands the famous Castel del Monte, built in the thirteenth century by Frederick II of Swabia, a symbol of Andria and the whole region but especially the UNESCO recognized Patrimonio UNESCO and depicted on the currency by 1 euro cent.
Among the best examples of civil architecture, the Town Hall, originally a Franciscan convent built around 1230 seems to want the same Frederick on his return from the Sixth Crusade, now the Town Hall in 1813, after issuing the decree of suspension of all the convents by Joachim Murat. Even expression of the strong bond with the city Federico II Porta S. Andrea, the only survivor of the original 4 had built by the emperor, and the Arc of Frederick II, dating from the eleventh century.
Examples of civil construction, and finally signal the Clock Tower, built at the time of Francis II of Dodge probably on a watch tower, Palazzo Ducale, where according to tradition was born Conrad IV of Sweden in 1228, and Ceci Ginistrelli Palace, dating from the eighteenth century.
Among the major examples of religious architecture, is of great importance to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, built in the late eleventh century, with its crypt, in which appears to have been buried two wives of Frederick II, Jolanda of Brienne and Isabella of England, and Chapel of the Holy Thorn, which would retain a crown of thorns of Christ given to the city of Beatrice d'Anjou and linked to the miracle that each 25 March, Annunciation Day, the specks of blood imprinted come alive. Then there is the Church of St. Augustine of the thirteenth century, the baroque interior and the precious marble altar, the Church of S. Domenico, the plant originally Gothic, later modified, built in 1398, the Church of S. Nicola Trimodiense, one of the oldest in the city dating from around 1104, the Church of S. Porta Santa Maria, built around the thirteenth century after the overthrow of the Holy Door and so called because it is expected to have exceeded the Saints Peter and Richard.
Different are the shrines: the Shrine of Our Lady dell'Altomare, whose cult dates back to 1598 when it happened that a girl fell into a cistern, was saved through the intervention of the Virgin dell'Altomare called because its image was found submerged in water and the Shrine of St. Maria dei Miracoli, built at the place where it was found Byzantine image of the Madonna and Child, the Sanctuary of SS. Salvatore, dating from 1901.
Events
- March 25 - Event of the Holy Thorn
- Holy Week - Rites of Passion
- February - Carnival Andriese
- April – Feast of April