Chiesa Matrice di Santa Maria Assunta

The Mother Church of Santa Maria Assunta stands in the narrow heart of Polignano a Mare's old town, on a small square just inside the medieval gate. Built in the thirteenth century, it blends Apulian Romanesque and Gothic forms and preserves art associated with its former role as the town's cathedral.

Why it matters

Santa Maria Assunta is Polignano's principal historic church and artistic landmark. It served as the cathedral of a diocese that existed for centuries before its suppression. The building retains the character of an episcopal church, with a dignified façade, basilican interior and works of art collected over time.

What to notice

The chapel of San Vito honours the town's patron and contains an eighteenth-century statue of the saint. The high altar is Baroque, set against the older Romanesque-Gothic structure; frescoes and sculptural fragments also survive. The outstanding work is a fifteenth-century polyptych of the Madonna and Child with saints by the Venetian painter Bartolomeo Vivarini. Works attributed to Stefano da Putignano include the Presepe chapel. A stone statue of San Vito in the south aisle and a sixteenth-century pulpit complete the church's collection.

Context and history

The church was built in the thirteenth century, probably over earlier religious structures. It served as the cathedral of Polignano until 1818, when the diocese was united with Monopoli. Later, the church became the mother church of the town and a co-cathedral in the merged diocese of Conversano-Monopoli. Its fabric and furnishings combine medieval structure with Renaissance and Baroque additions.