Scavi di San Pietro

The Scavi di San Pietro are an open excavation in the historic centre of Canosa di Puglia. The remains outline an early Christian episcopal quarter, including residential, funerary and religious buildings associated with the city's bishop Sabinus.

Why it matters

Canosa was a major Christian centre of northern Apulia in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Excavations carried out between 2001 and 2005 revealed a complex of buildings that served liturgical, residential, administrative and funerary purposes. Local tradition associates the site with the first resting place of Saint Sabinus, one of Canosa's most important bishops.

What to notice

The excavation is best read as a plan rather than as a single standing monument. It includes a residential building, a mausoleum and an apsidal burial room containing several graves. Their close arrangement shows how different activities took place within the same episcopal quarter. The low wall remains sit within the modern town, making the contrast between ancient street level and present urban surroundings visible.

Context and history

Sabinus governed the diocese of Canosa from 514 to 566 and is remembered as a restorer of churches. The cult installation at San Pietro is dated to his period. The excavations of 2001–2005 helped clarify the organisation of Canosa's early Christian quarter and its relationship to the city's religious life.