Welcome to Corato, the city that for the second year offers hospitality to the Apulia Web Fest!

The town is located 232 meters above sea level. The municipal territory, with a surface area of ​​167.73 km², extends over the eastern slopes of the Murge. Mainly rocky or semi-rocky, it is characterized by large open spaces in which spontaneous vegetation dominates, interrupted by areas cultivated mainly with vineyards, olive groves, almond groves and arable land. The prevalent vegetation is steppe or para-steppe; there are also strips of downy oak forests and pine forests especially in the Murgia Serraficaia (673 m above sea level) and in San Magno (480 m above sea level).

The town’s mother church, popularly called “il Duomo”, is mentioned for the first time in a document from the 11th century; its current appearance, however, is the one the building took on after various renovations due to the earthquake of 1627 and a 19th century restoration that erased almost every trace of the original structure. The external façade, on which the stratifications and modifications mentioned above are clearly visible, features a high-relief lunette depicting a Deesis. To the left of the portal, close to the intersection with the bell tower, 2.43 m from the ground, there is a rectangular limestone slab, surrounded by a frame and surmounted by three small round arches: on it are barely visible the sculpted remains of a relief (now almost completely worn away) depicting the ascension of Alexander the Great to heaven, an iconographic theme of great fortune in medieval art (especially in the Romanesque Apulian area) and in Byzantine art. Of the original relief, only the two baits impaled on the tip of the two lances are legible.

Inside you can admire a precious silver reliquary bust depicting the patron saint of the city, San Cataldo, as well as a precious fresco of the Madonna of Constantinople dating back to 1559, which was brought to light in recent times after being walled up for several centuries.

The façade currently overlooks Corso Garibaldi, reversed 180° compared to the original one that opened onto the historic center. It has very simple neoclassical forms: it is marked by pilasters that end in Ionic capitals and support an unfinished tympanum. The only central portal is in a raised position compared to the street level: on the sides of the entrance staircase there are two air vents for the crypt, only partially buried.

Inside, the church has a Greek cross plan divided into three naves; the bays are marked by imposing pillars and pointed arches. At the intersection of the arms, the drum that once supported the dome, now missing, is visible. On the counterfaçade, you can admire a splendid wooden choir adorned with paintings of the main patrons of the city and a lunette depicting the Nativity, both made in the 18th century; in the naves there are two papier-mâché statues (Saint Anne and a Pietà) attributable to the same period. On the stairs leading to the crypt, moreover, you can admire a statue-mannequin with the features of the Greek Madonna, richly dressed and decorated. Since 1993, the right nave has housed the tomb of the servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, in white marble.

The crypt consists of a single room with a cross vault, decorated with Baroque stucco reliefs. There are two eighteenth-century tabernacles, a sculptural group depicting the Madonna of Pompeii dating back to the second half of the 19th century and one of San Pio made in 2000. On the high altar, made of marble in 1921 with the same neoclassical forms as the façade, there is the icon of the Greek Madonna. The room behind the altar, now almost completely bare, is the original one where it was found by a priest, and the small window with the original location of the image is still visible. The west wall of the crypt is the only one not plastered and still has the remains of the ancient Greek Tower.

The miraculous icon preserved in the crypt is painted in oil on poplar wood; the painting has strong Mannerist elements and depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a throne of clouds and surrounded by angels, carrying Baby Jesus on her left arm and a Byzantine pastoral staff in her right hand. The Madonna is portrayed with dark skin and hair and Greek-style clothes, hence her name. A small bell is painted at the bottom left, in memory of the one that according to legend rang just before the image drew itself on the panel. Tradition has it that, despite its five centuries of age and the constant humidity of the environment in which it is located, the icon has never required restoration work.

In the rusticated masonry of the facade, there is a simple architraved portal, while the upper part of the facade, completed in more recent times, has a tympanum crown. The building, built in the second half of the 18th century, underwent renovations in the 1930s.

The interior, not large, has retained its original appearance, even if the colouring of the plaster is from the late 1900s. The church, with a single nave, covered with a barrel vault, is enlivened by the presence of three chapels on each side, under shallow arches. It ends with a large apse inside which there are two symmetrical portals. Thanks to the presence of pilasters and a marked cornice above that mark the entire space of the nave and the apse, the structure presents a notable visual unity of the architectural space. The stucco decoration is simple but refined, including the acanthus capitals of the pilasters. In the altarpiece of the presbytery there is a beautiful eighteenth-century statue depicting the Madonna del Carmine.

The Church inside houses a valuable organ made in 1760 by the Bari organ builder Pietro De Simone

Dedicated to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the church was built in 1756. It is characterized by a large vestibule, with a cross vault, which is placed between the entrance and the church. The name ‘Cappuccini’, by which the church is known, is due to the community of Capuchin Franciscan friars, present in Corato since 1591. The archbishop of Trani, Monsignor Giulio Caracciolo, a few years later, in 1594, authorized the construction of the convent, to be used by the friars. It was the Carafa family, counts of Ruvo di Puglia and dukes of Andria (of which Corato is a fief), who financed the work.

It is located in Piazza Cesare Battisti on the corner of Corso Garibaldi in the building that was the Convent of the Minor Observants dedicated to San Cataldo built at the beginning of 1500. According to a legend, in this very place, in 1483, Bishop Cataldo appeared to a farmer, freeing Corato from the plague. Initially, a convent of the Minor Observant Friars and a small church were built. In 1629, the much larger church dedicated to the Crowned Virgin was built transversally to the previous one. The convent was characterized by a cloister, still well preserved, characterized by late Gothic ogival arches resting on pillars. The Town Hall took on its current appearance at the end of the 19th century and from that period onwards served as the City Hall.

Also called “the palace with sharp stones”, the palace built in 1579 by the Patroni Griffi family, is a notable example of Renaissance architecture in Puglia. Its design was probably influenced by the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, another Renaissance building known for its diamond-pointed rustication. The most striking feature of the Palazzo de Mattis is its façade.

The upper floor (piano nobile) is covered in diamond-pointed rustication, which gives the palace the nickname “Palace of the pointed stones”. The ground floor features a different style: rusticated rustication with decorative relief.

The building is spread over three floors above ground and recalls the stylistic features of Renaissance architecture on the façade. The ground floor is characterised by ashlar made with regularly arranged stone blocks of variable height and articulated according to a precise design. The first floor is covered with regular blocks while the second floor is finished with a layer of plaster.

As well as being a beautiful location for Apulia Web Fest, it is divided into three floors above ground: ground floor, mezzanine floor and main floor. The facades are marked by horizontal partitions according to the following characterization: the base, consisting of a ground floor and a mezzanine floor, is covered with rough-hewn stone blocks on which the portals and window jambs consisting of large overlapping bosses or dentils open, the main floor has a plastered surface punctuated by linear pilasters on which the large windows stand out, delimited by large frames enriched by architraves and projecting trabeations.

Only on the facades facing Largo Plebiscito is the absence of pilasters noted

The elegant square, the hub of Corato’s city life, was the place designated for the city administration and contains some of the most beautiful historic buildings in the city.

On its pavement stands the imposing Palazzo Gioia, which according to tradition, stands on the area of ​​the ancient Castle built by Peter the Norman. It was the home of the feudal families who succeeded one another in governing the city, as evidenced by the coats of arms of the Carafa family present on two of the four portals. Other important historic buildings enclose the perimeter of the square, such as the building of the former Municipal Library, dating back to the 18th century, the Palazzo della Pretura in neoclassical style, and a building from 1920, built in neo-18th century style.

The town has very ancient origins and this is demonstrated by the presence of two different archaeological sites that can be visited.

In fact, we find the Chianca dei Paladini, a dolmen formed by three vertical megaliths (called “orthostrati”) that constitute the walls of the “cell” and, obviously, the large slab placed horizontally. The Dolmen is about 2.75 meters long. Inside, evidently already plundered who knows when, only a vase was found that probably contained colored pigments. According to legend, this construction should be the result of a competition between giants. The name of this dolmen monument refers to those legends (not exclusively present in Puglia) that see the Paladins of Charlemagne as the creators of the various megalithic artifacts. Obviously these are not the “historical paladins”, but characters transfigured by tales and legends who, if you look closely, are much closer to the “Giants” and other beings with superhuman strength (or powers) to whom the erection of extraordinary buildings or monuments has been attributed (precisely) whose mysteries Science has not yet been able to unravel.

The other archaeological site is called Sepolcri di San Magno. It is one of the most important Necropolises present on the Alta Murgia. It extends over a very large area of ​​about two square kilometers and is located to the south-east of a very large sinkhole that has as its central point a large cistern for collecting water called “Pescara degli Antichi”. The Necropolis is made up of about eighty tumulus tombs made with large blocks of limestone and therefore defined as dolmen type. The investigated tombs have highlighted a “cultural facies” of Daunia environment dating back to between the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Iron objects and pottery, mostly fragmentary, both achrome and painted with geometric figures in purified clay, fibulae, ceramic remains and double-thread bracelets were found in the tombs. The funerary objects are now kept at the Museum of the City and Territory of Corato.

Tourists traveling in Puglia have so many delicacies to taste. But what is the typical food of Corato? As in
many other areas of Puglia, especially in the province of Bari, the typical food is orecchiette with ragù
accompanied by involtini, also called braciole, of horse meat or donkey meat. Other typical foods of the
Corato cuisine are orecchiette with turnip tops, pignatta di trippa and a focaccia with steamed onions, black olives,
sultanas and anchovies in salt called calzone. During the Easter period it is also possible to taste
scarcelle (taralli of various shapes with sugar icing).
However, we cannot forget a very simple but absolutely exquisite food that characterizes our
beautiful land of Puglia: His Majesty The Panzerotto. Born as a humble dish but now become a renowned street food, they are crescents of leavened dough, fried and crispy, filled with mozzarella (Puglian, I recommend) and tomato, whose aroma is capable of teasing even the most demanding palates.