Mura Megalitiche di Altamura

Altamura's megalithic walls are pre-Roman fortifications built from large blocks of stone laid without mortar. Their remains, including the gate known as Porta Alba, are incorporated into the modern town's street and building fabric.

Why it matters

The Pro Loco dates the fortification to the fifth and fourth centuries BCE and attributes it to the Peucetian communities of central Apulia. About 1,800 metres of wall remains are documented within the urban area. The circuit shows that the medieval city grew within an older fortified landscape.

What to notice

The walls were built from large, unshaped stones, set in two facing curtains around an earth-and-rubble core. The Pro Loco describes the surviving sections as roughly 5.5 metres thick and originally more than four metres high. Porta Alba, also called Porta Aurea, is the surviving gate and retains an adjacent trapezoidal tower. Nearby necropolis finds include shaft tombs dated to the sixth and fifth centuries BCE.

Context and history

The fortifications formed two circuits around the ancient settlement: an inner wall around the acropolis and a larger outer perimeter. Their remains were incorporated into later buildings and street walls. Altamura's medieval refoundation in 1232 established the later town over the older settlement. The precise chronology of the fortifications remains debated.