Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

Altamura Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is a landmark of the city’s medieval centre and a rare surviving example of Swabian-era church architecture still used for worship. Its sculpted portal, rose window and upper galleries reveal successive phases of the building’s history.

Why it matters

Commissioned by Frederick II during the refoundation of Altamura in the thirteenth century, the cathedral preserves a rare example of Federician architecture in continuing liturgical use. A medieval collapse and later rebuilding, Baroque alterations and the installation of the Diocesan Museum in the upper galleries have each shaped the building.

What to notice

The west front centres on a sculpted portal beneath Gothic detailing; the rose window illuminates the central nave. Above the side aisles, two parallel galleries are divided into bays with pointed vaults and open to the nave through trifore. Their mid-thirteenth-century capitals are among the visible remnants of the original church. The interior combines Romanesque-Gothic structure with later Baroque decoration.

Context and history

The cathedral and the refounded city grew together after Frederick II’s invitation to settlers in 1232. A collapse, traditionally dated to 1316 by an inscription in the church, was followed by rebuilding that gave the cathedral its Gothic-era portal and façade. Later centuries brought Baroque changes and adjustments to the tower block. Since 2016, the Diocesan Museum has occupied the medieval matronei, bringing renewed attention to the upper galleries.