Visit Bitonto, stroll through the streets of the old town, discover the most suggestive views, smell flavours , taste good food, meet people, talk with them, listen to their dialect.

Bitonto is a city and comune in the Metropolitan City of Bari (Apulia region), Italy. It lies to the west of Bari. It is nicknamed the „City of Olives“, due to the numerous olive groves surrounding the city.

HIGHLIGHTS

Among its other highlights, Bitonto is well known for its museums and archaeological area, which form a highlight of a visit. This ‚Museum Centre‘ is based on the towns history and locally found artefacts. The Archdiocese of Bari and Bitonto has two exhibitions of high value here, including the Cathedral archaeological area.

Bitonto is an elegant old town in the area of Bari that preserves a magnificent Angevin circular tower of the 14th century (Torrione Angioino) and beautiful renaissance buildings of the 15th-16th century. One of these, the Palazzo Sylos Calò, guests the National Gallery of Puglia “Girolamo e Rosaria Devanna“, which has a wonderful collection with works of art by Gentileschi, Lotto, Veronese, Delacroix, Velazquez, El Greco, Poussin, De Nittis and many other important international artists.

The highlight of the visit of Bitonto is the Cathedral, an absolute masterpiece of the Apulian Romanesque and one of the most beautiful churches in Puglia. Inside the church, priceless works of art are conserved, like the finely decorated ambon and the impressive Early Christian mosaics.

Diocesan Museum

The Diocesan Museum exhibits works of sacred art including a 13th century wooden icon of the Virgin “Odegitria”; an important 13th century painting depicting St. Francis; some frescos from the churches of Bitonto; a painted cross dating from the 15th century; a sizeable group of paintings by Carlo Rosa; and a lapidary consisting of the remains of the medieval decoration of the Cathedral and sculptural elements dating from the 18th century.

Main sights

The city includes a medieval burg and a modern area.

The main landmarks include:

• The Castle and the walls
• The Romanesque Bitonto Cathedral (Cattedrale di S. Valentino), built in the 11th-12th centuries and influenced by the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari. The west façade is divided in three parts and has three portals, the central one sculpted with vegetables motifs and scenes from the Old Testament, four mullioned windows and a rose window flanked by sculptures of animals supported by small columns. The interior has a nave and two aisles: the main artwork is the marble ambo (1229), a masterwork of medieval Apulian sculpture.
• The Basilica of SS Cosma e Damiano
• The church of San Francesco (12th century). It was built in 1283 over a pre-existing Roman fortification, to celebrate the 1222 visit of St. Francis of Assisi. It has kept the original late-Romanesque façade, flanked by a 16th-century bell tower. The portal has figures of bovine animals, probably an allusion to the founder family of the church, Bove. It is surmounted by a triple mullioned window. The interior has some frescoes and 16th-century altars.
• The church of San Gaetano
• The church of San Domenico
• The church of Santa Caterina
• The Sylos-Labini Palace
• The Bove Palace
• The Late Renaissance Palazzo Sylos-Vulpano 

Economy and culture

Bitonto is well known for its production of extra virgin olive oil, which is exported to America and elsewhere in Europe. The city also produces wine, beer, cereals, almonds, and textiles.

Recently, Bitonto has also become a popular tourist destination. It has hosted the Beat Onto Jazz Festival since 2001.