Molfetta suns itself on the Adriatic Sea in Puglia, midway between Trani and Bari. The port has always harbored an active fishing fleet, right up to today. 

Molfetta is a town located in the northern side of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy.

It has a well restored old city, and its own dialect.

HIGHLIGTHS

During the Middle Ages Molfetta’s port placed it into the trading world amidst great cities like Venice, Alexandria and Constantinople. The city enjoyed importance and prosperity, which still reflects in the architecture and atmosphere. The streets of the center weave and curve, leading to piazzas. Wander amidst the archways and alleyways decorated with balconies and stone details.

The medieval center starts at the port, where the impressive cathedral is practically lapped by the waves. Dedicated to San Corrado, the imposing milky-colored church is flanked by two tall towers and topped by three cupolas. It is a beautiful backdrop on the sea, built in a distinct Puglian version of Romanesque style. Inside it is spare and yet monumental. The Basilica of the Madonna of the Martyrs is the oldest church in town and contains lovely artwork as well as a sculpture of the Holy Sepulchre that is worth seeing carved from stone transported from the Holy Land. Adjacent was a hospital for the crusaders, built to serve and cure the pilgrims and crusaders who passed here on the route to and from Palestine as Molfetta was on the sea route.

Molfetta is small enough to be friendly and welcoming but large enough to offer a vibrant spirit. There are sandy beaches for surf and fun, and summer rolls in a full-blown party atmosphere. Because of its fishing tradition, this is a great place to enjoy the bounty of the Adriatic Sea in one of the many seafood restaurants. The town is the scene of a big Festa del Mare (Sea Festival) in September. For thrill-seekers, the Mir

Geography

Located in the north-western corner of its province, near the borders with the one of Barletta-Andria-Trani, and by the Adriatic Coast, Molfetta borders with the municipalities of Bisceglie (BT), Giovinazzo, Terlizzi and Ruvo di Puglia. The town is 27 km from Andria, 31 from Barletta and 34 from Bari.

Main sights

• Il Pulo is one of the most important Neolithic sites of southern Italy. It is a circular cave 23 metres (75 ft) deep with grottoes and remains of old constructions.
• The Old Cathedral (it:Duomo di San Corrado) was built in the twelfth–thirteenth centuries in Apulian-Romanesque style, using local stone on a basilica plan, a nave with two aisles divided by four central cross-shaped pilasters. The floor has two domes. From the apse area rise two 20-metre (66 ft) towers, one of which acted as watchtower, the other has the usual campanile. The interior has some notable religious furnishings from the sixteenth century
• Several watchtowers, such as the Torre Calderina (fifteenth century) on the seaside, and the Torrione Passari, inglobated in the town’s walls.
• The New Cathedral, or church of S. Maria Assunta in Cielo, was built by the Jesuits from 1610. It houses the remains of the city’s patron, San Corrado of Bavaria, in a silver reliquary bust of the saint (seventeenth century) by G. Todaro.
• The church of San Bernardino da Siena (1451, rebuilt in 1585) includes a triptych by Duccio d’Andrea (fifteenth century) and other later paintings. Notable is the Renaissance choir. The annexed convent is now the Palazzo Civico (town hall).
• The church of Santo Stefano, built from 1286, but with a Renaissance stone façade added in 1586.
• Palazzo Giovene is a 16th-century palace, now used as Town Hall. It has a notable Renaissance style portal
• The church of Santa Maria Consolatrice degli Afflitti, simply known as Chiesa del Purgatorio, dating from 1643 and consecrated in 1667. The façade has statues representing Sts. Stephen, Peter, Paul and Lawrence and, on the two side summits, those of St. Joaquim and St. Anne. The interior houses paintings by Bernardo Cavallino and native-son Corrado Giaquinto.
• The church of San Pietro Apostolo, simply called “San Pietro’s Church”, just existing in the twelfth century, but with the actual Baroque façade and bell tower, situated in the old town, at the begin of the street of the some name, near the Municipio Square.
• The Temple of Calvary, a small Neo-Gothic construction built in 1856 and designed by the local architect Corrado De Judicibus.
• Two km outside the city in the direction of Bisceglie, is the basilica-sanctuary of the Madonna dei Martiri. The current nave of the church is partially built over the old eleventh-century church, of which only a dome and the underlying structure remain, in today’s altar area. Annexed is the Crusaders Hospital, also from the eleventh century. The basilica conserves an image that was a votive gift of some Crusaders in 1188.
• The lighthouse