Bari Cathedral

Why go

The cathedral makes the city’s layered past visible in one building. Look beyond the white limestone exterior to the Succorpo, the archaeological space beneath the church, where earlier floors and structures show how successive places of worship occupied the same site.

What to look for

• The façade’s eighteen-part rose window sits among carved animal motifs.
• A thirteenth-century altar canopy and reconstructed medieval pulpit furnish the upper church.
• The Timoteo floor mosaic survives in the Succorpo beneath the cathedral.

The full story

The cathedral standing today follows a major rupture in Bari’s history. William I of Sicily destroyed its predecessor in 1156, and rebuilding began later in the twelfth century. Archbishop Rainaldo reused material from the earlier church and other ruined buildings. The replacement was consecrated in 1292, drawing on the Romanesque example of the Basilica di San Nicola. The layers below reach much further back. Archaeological remains trace Roman, early Christian and medieval phases, so the underground visit changes the meaning of the church above: this was already a religious site long before its present walls rose. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Sabinus, a bishop of Canosa whose relics were brought to Bari in the ninth century. His relics belong to the crypt, giving that richly altered lower space its own devotional identity.

Useful to know

• Plan for the crypt and archaeological area as well as the upper church when choosing the cultural visit.
• Keep San Sabino, the cathedral’s dedication, distinct from Saint Nicholas at the nearby basilica.

Your next visit

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