Bitonto

Bitonto

*Vetònde*
Bitonto Vetònde
Comune
	Comune di Bitonto
	View of the historical center
	Coat of arms
	Nickname: Città degli Ulivi ("City of Olives")
	Bitonto within the Province of Bari
	Location of Bitonto
	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	70032
Dialing code	080
Patron saint	Immaculate Conception
Saint day	May 26
Website	Official website

Bitonto (Italian:

Bitontino: Vetònde) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Bari, in the Italian region of Apulia. It lies to the west of Bari

. It is nicknamed the "City of Olives", due to the numerous olive groves surrounding the city.

Geography

Bitonto lies approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) to the west of the city of Bari, near the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The bordering municipalities are Bari, Bitetto, Palo del Colle, Altamura, Toritto, Ruvo di Puglia, Terlizzi, and Giovinazzo.^[3] The hamlets (frazioni) are Mariotto and Palombaio.

History

The city was founded by the

Peucetii, and its inhabitants referred to by the Greek settlers of the region as Butontinoi, an ethnonym of uncertain derivation.^[4] According to one tradition, the city was named after Botone, an Illyrian

king. Its first city wall can be dated to the fifth to fourth centuries BC; traces remain in the foundations of the Norman walling.

Similarities of

interpretatio romana as Minerva; the site sacred to her is occupied by the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli. As a city of the Late Roman Empire, Bitonto figures in the Liber Colonis of Frontinus, in the Antonine Itinerary and other Imperial itineraries, and the Tabula Peutingeriana, a post where fresh horses were to be had for travellers on the Via Traiana for Brundisium

.

The foundations of a

gastaldo

had his seat at Bitonto, Lombard customs and law insinuated themselves deeply in local social fabric.

During the 9th century, Bitonto successfully withstood a Saracen raid, in which the besiegers' leader was killed beneath the city's walls [5] Bitonto took part in the revolt of Melus of Bari in 1009.

In the Middle Ages Bitonto was a fief of several baronial families, before it passed permanently in the thirteenth century to the Acquaviva, who took their name from their stronghold at

Ferrante di Aragona in favour of Giovanni Antonio Acquaviva; on his premature death it passed to his brother, the successful and cultivated condottiero Andrea Matteo Acquaviva, who exchanged it in 1487 for the marquessate of Ugento, which he subsequently lost.^[7] In 1552 the citizens paid for the city's freedom the considerable sum of 66,000 ducats

.

In 1734, during the

War of Polish Succession, the Spanish army under Charles of Bourbon and the Duke of Montemar defeated the Austrians under Giuseppe Antonio, Prince of Belmonte at the Battle of Bitonto, thus securing possession of the Kingdom of Naples for the Bourbons

.

On September 6, 1928 the village of the Holy Spirit, the only access to the coast and the subject of border disputes between the two cities since the Thirteenth century, it passed to the municipality of Bari. The territory stolen had a surface area of about 16 square kilometers.

Main sights

The city includes a medieval burg and a modern area.

The main landmarks include:

The Castle and the walls

The Romanesque
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
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 [it]

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.^[8] It has hosted the Beat Onto Jazz Festival since 2001.^[9]

Transportation

Bitonto is not directly connected to the Italian national railway system (

Karol Wojtyła Airport of Bari

.

Around Bitonto, there is a ring road resembling a near perfect circle, from which only the easternmost portion is missing [1].

Sport

The local association football club is the

U.S. Bitonto, and its home ground is the Città degli Ulivi Stadium

.

People

Caffarelli (Gaetano Majorano), castrato opera singer
Vitale Giordano
, mathematician
Nicola Bonifacio Logroscino
, musician
Carlo Rosa, painter
Gennaro Rubino, unsuccessful assassin of King Leopold II of Belgium
Tommaso Traetta, musician and reformer of the Baroque Opera
Michele Morrone, (365 days actor)

International relations

Bitonto is

twinned

with:

Bosnia-Herzegovina^[10]

Durrës, Albania^[11]

References

^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ 40976 (x a j h) Bitonto on OpenStreetMap
^ Bitonto.net Archived May 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
^ Bitonto.net Archived May 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ Acquaviva d'Aragona from 1479: Acquaviva d'Aragona genealogy Archived 2004-10-22 at Bibliotheca Alexandrina
^ "Condottieri di ventura" ^{[dead link]}
^ "Portale Ufficiale del Turismo della Regione Puglia" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
^ "Beat Onto Jazz Festival" (in Italian). Italiajazz.it. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
^ Градови партнери [City of Banja Luka - Partner cities]. Administrative Office of the City of Banja Luka (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
^ Kryetari i Bashkisë së Durrësit Vangjush Dako ka pritur në një takim kryetarin e bashkisë së Bitontos Michele Abbaticchio Archived 2016-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, Bashkia Durrës, 2014-06-26 (in Albanian)

Sources

External links

[wikidata-16139ca327c50d72c40d8c5fd3abe706b989650e-v11-1] "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.

[wikidata-6c4193b2686f905553042f4ae1ae4934aea078c8-v11-2] "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.

[3] 40976 (x a j h) Bitonto on OpenStreetMap

[Cenni-4] Bitonto.net Archived May 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.

[5] Bitonto.net Archived May 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[6] Acquaviva d'Aragona from 1479: Acquaviva d'Aragona genealogy Archived 2004-10-22 at Bibliotheca Alexandrina

[7] "Condottieri di ventura" ^{[dead link]}

[8] "Portale Ufficiale del Turismo della Regione Puglia" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-11-02.

[9] "Beat Onto Jazz Festival" (in Italian). Italiajazz.it. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2017.

[Banja_Luka_twinnings-10] Градови партнери [City of Banja Luka - Partner cities]. Administrative Office of the City of Banja Luka (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2013-08-09.

[11] Kryetari i Bashkisë së Durrësit Vangjush Dako ka pritur në një takim kryetarin e bashkisë së Bitontos Michele Abbaticchio Archived 2016-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, Bashkia Durrës, 2014-06-26 (in Albanian)

[3]

[4]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF 2
National	France BnF data Germany
Geographic	MusicBrainz area Pleiades