The origins
The history of Puglia, Calabria and Basilicata is thousands of years old, as evidenced by the dolmens and menhirs lining the Salento. But the real wealth of these regions lies in the testimony they give of Magna Grecia and its prosperous cities. In Metapontum, you will discover part of the walls that surrounded the city, but also the remains of its agora and its bouleuterion (council hall), and especially the 15 columns of the Doric temple dedicated to Hera, called the Palatine Tables. The city also shelters the vestiges of its kerameikos or district of the potters with its many furnaces. Iraclia, another city of legend, still has the regular contours of the checkerboard plan invented by the Greeks, from which emerges the plateia, the main avenue 1.5 km long. Another site not to be missed is Locri, with the remains of the Cyclopean walls that protected it and its checkerboard layout coupled with an ingenious system of water pipes. But to see the last two columns still standing of one of the most ancient temples of Magna Grecia, it is in Taranto that you must go. As for the legendary raised column of Cape Colonna, which belonged to the temple of Hera Lacinia (of which there were 48), it appears to be the last witness to this past splendour. From the Roman period, there are few remains. Lecce has the only Roman theatre in Puglia. The town also has an imposing Roman column, the counterpart of the one in Brindisi that marked the end of the famous Via Appia. Canosa di Puglia has the remains of a beautiful temple dedicated to Jupiter which can be reached by a brick staircase, while not far away a bridge over the Ofanto river, with its beautiful semicircular arches, bears witness to Roman civil engineering. Most of the remains of the Roman era now belong to the underground world... In fact, many temples, basilicas and even baths served as foundations for the first Christian buildings. The Basilica of San Leucio in Canosa di Puglia, for example, has all the elements of the pagan temple on which it was built: cella framed by two large vestibules, painted Doric and Ionic columns, polychrome mosaics. A syncretism that can be found in the amazing caves of Matera. Existing since prehistoric times, they are home to rock churches, some of which have beautiful Byzantine frescoes. A Byzantine influence can be found a few centuries later in the Cattolica of Stilo, which became famous for the perfection of its proportions and its Greek cross plan surmounted by 5 high-drummed domes, a plan that was widespread in the great Byzantine Empire at the time. Southern Italy is more Greek-Byzantine than Roman!
Amazing Middle Ages
The first to make their mark were the Normans. Their castles are characterised by massive volumes dominated by powerful towers, such as the tower of San Marco Argentano, former stronghold of the legendary Robert Guiscard. The first Norman religious buildings show a great sobriety (especially the cathedral of Andria) and here again an astonishing syncretism. The cathedral of Gerace, the largest in Calabria, has three naves supported by 40 antique columns; while Santa Maria d'Anglona, built by the Byzantines on an ancient temple, was rebuilt by the Normans who added a beautiful campanile, a key feature of religious buildings of the time. This syncretism constitutes the DNA of the architecture of these regions, as shown by the evolution of Romanesque art. Cathedrals and churches were gradually adorned with the finery of what was called Apulian Romanesque. Between the art of high antiquity, Germanic imagination, Byzantine formal rigour and Arab decorative abundance, this Romanesque art is at the crossroads of all influences. Rosettes, suspended arches and capitals sculpted in the form of a bestiary mixing fantastic creatures and Christian imagery are among the great attributes of this style. The Basilica of San Nicola in Bari is the most beautiful manifestation of this style. See its majestic façade decorated with arches and geminated windows and its powerful volumes punctuated by friezes and other Lombard bands with blind arcatures. The cathedral of Bitonto impresses with its sober lines, enhanced by its astonishing portal with lions and griffins. Other must-sees are the Duomo Vecchio di San Corrado in Molfetta, famous for its pyramidal domes of different proportions, and the Cathedral of Troia with its stone rose window with 11 petals linked by polychrome marble arches. And these are just a few examples of the "stone flowers" that dot southern Italy! Another must-see is the fortresses of Emperor Frederick II. Along the Popilia, an ancient Roman road, he had the ancient Norman fortifications rebuilt, such as the fortress of Consenza, to which he added four octagonal towers. At the same time, the sovereign built new castles, such as the one in Gioia del Colle with its imposing walls and the one in Bari with its trapezoidal shape flanked by four towers. But the great masterpiece of Frederick II is Castel del Monte, nicknamed the "Crown of Apulia". The castle is octagonal in shape, flanked by 8 octagonal towers and organized around a central patio, which is itself octagonal. In addition to this symbolic dimension, the richness of the marble, mosaic and stucco decorations and the incredible modernity of the installations are also noteworthy: the castle had toilets and pipes built into the walls to carry water! Castles and cathedrals overlooked towns with a typically medieval urban layout made up of a tangle of narrow streets, vaulted passages and stairways lined with arcaded houses and leading to irregularly shaped squares lined with porticoes. The Citta Vecchia of Bari, as well as the village of Monte San'Angelo, or Lucera have preserved this medieval charm. Lucera also has a beautiful cathedral bearing the mark of the Angevin Gothic style, as well as 900 m of walls built by Charles of Anjou.
Baroque effervescence
The 16th century was marked by the adaptation of castles to the evolution of artillery, as in the case of the castle of Barletta, which saw the addition of 4 corner bastions, each housing 2 circular rooms superimposed on top of each other and designed to receive gunboats. But it was in the following century that the south of Italy, and in particular Puglia, experienced a period of architectural splendour with the advent of the Baroque. Lecce even became the "Florence of the Baroque". The whole city bears the colours of this art of decoration and theatricality. Balustrades, cornices and windows are literally overflowing with garlands of plant or marine motifs, cherubs and caryatids with rounded curves, and torso columns, all finely chiseled like lace. This decorative precision is made possible by the use of Lecce stone, a white, crumbly limestone that gradually turns golden, earning it the name pietra dorata. The sculptors say that a simple nail stroke in the stone can last for hundreds of years! The great master of this baroque is Giuseppe Zimbalo, nicknamed "the Gypsy". It is to him that we owe all or part of the great baroque jewels of the city, starting with the sumptuous basilica of Santa Croce. In its lower part, its facade is of an astonishing sobriety, but in its upper part, it is a real stone enchantment: consoles in the shape of strange animals, rosettes, leaves, shells and ribbons are juxtaposed in a decorative debauchery to make your head spin! Martina Franca is the other major Baroque landmark. Don't miss the collegiate church of San Martino, the Palazzo Ducale with its wrought iron balcony and frescoes, or the Church of the Carmine with its octagonal dome and polychrome marble altar. This baroque effervescence will be followed by the calm lines of classicism. In Caserta, the great architect Luigi Vanvitelli built the Palazzo Reale, one of the largest royal palaces in Italy. Judge for yourself: 1,790 windows, 94 staircases, more than 1,000 rooms decorated with stucco and paintings and sumptuous gardens filled with water features, fountains and kiosks. Objective: to rival Versailles!
Modern and contemporary architecture
The 19th century was a period of urban renewal for many cities, starting with Bari, where Murat launched the construction of the Borgo Nuovo, nicknamed Murattiano. Following the lines of a rigorous checkerboard plan, the new district is divided into square or rectangular housing estates, between which are interspersed many green spaces, the whole being cut by large tree-lined avenues. The architecture that accompanies this renewal is adorned with the trappings of neoclassicism. The Piccini and Petruzelli theatres, as well as the Palazzo Ateneo, are among the elegant witnesses of this style with its sober and pure lines. The end of the 19th century also heralded the triumph of modernity with a feat of civil engineering: the Ponte Girevole in Taranto with its great metal arch, in reality made up of two branches operating independently around a central pillar. The 1908 earthquake changed the face of Reggio Calabria, which was rebuilt in a checkerboard pattern of buildings adorned in the colours of an eclecticism known as the "Humboldt style". The Palazzo Corrado Alvaro, with its marble and Renaissance palace appearance, and the Villa Zerbi, with its Gothic arches, Renaissance loggia and antique columns, are the most beautiful examples. The city is also home to examples of Liberty, Italian Art Nouveau, such as the Palazzo San Giorgio or the Palazzo Melissari-Musitano, an astonishing mixture of neoclassical rigour and Liberty. During the Fascist period, Bari was again transformed: the port was enlarged, while a lungomare redesigned the seafront. The city also acquired a new district, that of the Fiera del Levant, and a new water distribution network. In terms of architecture, the buildings of the time were monumental and refined, borrowing from the codes of Antiquity, like the National Museum of Reggio Calabria, the work of Marcello Pacentini, even if some borrowed from other periods, such as the Palazzo del Governo in Taranto with its resolutely medieval appearance. From the 1950s onwards, most of the large towns in Calabria, Puglia and Basilicata were surrounded by concrete, while numerous factories appeared in remote areas, hence their nickname of "cathedrals of the desert". Fortunately, from the 1990s onwards, other voices were heard, starting with that of the great architect Renzo Piano. It is to him that we owe the light and modular structure of the San Nicola stadium in Bari, and especially one of the largest religious complexes ever built: the Padre Pio church in San Giovanni Rotondo. 30,000m3 of cement, 22 stone arches resting on a central pillar 4 m in diameter, a main span of 50 m, 60 tons of steel, 500m2 of glass, the creation of antiseismic systems... This sanctuary is an architectural feat! At the same time, contemporary architects are rehabilitating old factories and designing villas using natural materials with a constant concern for integration with the environment. Bart Conterio, for his part, has redesigned the Risorgimento Resort by reviving ancestral techniques, such as the camere dello scirocco, underground chambers dug into the rock and designed to cool the rooms above ground. A link between past and present characterizes the work of Edoardo Tresoldi, who created the incredible metal latticework that reconstructs the volumes of the early Christian basilica of Santa Maria di Siponto. Between illusion and reality, this work is a true architectural sculpture. Finally, Reggio Calabria will soon be home to a Museum of the Mediterranean with curves reminiscent of a starfish and designed by the famous Zaha Hadid!
Unusual vernacular treasures
Let's go back to the legendary sassi (literally stones/pebbles) of Matera. Used since prehistoric times, these caves have long sheltered peasant families who lived there in the greatest poverty, and most often with their animals, the latter occupying the rear part of the cave. Evacuated between 1952 and 1977, the sassi are today the object of important rehabilitation and restoration campaigns. Here is an incredible tangle of gaping openings, stone facades set against the rock, simple huts and beautiful houses carved into the rock, and wine cellars alongside Romanesque and Baroque cave churches! Other amazing architectural achievements: the trulli of Puglia. Their name comes from the Greek troullos meaning dome, their construction principle being based on the false dome. Their roof is made of concentric circles of slabs of lauze that are superimposed on each other without mortar, creating a corbelled vault inside. The dome ends with a decorative pinnacle, while the slate is decorated with symbolic motifs painted in white. Generally, each room is topped by a roof, creating an astonishing succession of domes and stone cones. With a square or circular plan, these small houses are always whitewashed. These "stone mamelons" are said to be the direct heirs of the sugar loaf houses of the Middle East, the model of which was brought back by the monks returning from the Holy Land. To discover this architecture, go to Alberobello, a village with no less than 1,500 trulli, including the incredible Trullo Sovrano with 2 floors and 12 roofs! Finally, don't miss the beautiful masseria, fortified farmhouses built between the 16th and 19th centuries and named after the massero, the farmer who runs them. Surrounded by terraces and olive groves, organized around a central courtyard, these farmhouses with whitewashed walls are characterized by simple volumes and functional architecture. Today, many have been rehabilitated and transformed into luxury hotels or agrotourism lodges!
