Minervino Murge

Minervino is a town in the Puglia Imperiale area, with around 7,900 inhabitants, lying within the Alta Murgia National Park at an altitude of 445 metres, a short distance from Frederick II's iconic Castel del Monte. In its oldest part Minervino preserves the medieval quarter known as the Scesciola, rich in fine monuments, with stone houses often linked by arches. Ancient tracks, the tratturi (drove roads), run throughout the surrounding countryside and are still used as routes across the grazing land.

First and foremost is the Grotto of the Archangel Michael (the end point of Stage 13 of the Cammino). Located at the foot of the town, the grotto is a karst cave formed in the Quaternary period (2 million years ago), when this area, until then under water, began to rise above sea level. The earliest written record is found in a parchment kept at the Abbey of Montecassino, dated 12 February 1000. The grotto, however, must have been known and visited earlier, probably as far back as the early Christian period. An ancient place of devotion to St Michael, the grotto is of historical, artistic and speleological interest. In the historic centre, visitors should see the Baronial Palace, Lombard in origin, remodelled by the Normans and with a handsome neoclassical façade, built in the northern part of the old town for defensive purposes. Also worth visiting are the towers and, above all, the Castle, now the Town Hall, the oldest part of which dates from the 11th century. Minervino also has many churches from different periods: the Cathedral, once the seat of a bishop for six centuries, built under Norman rule; the Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli, in the historic Scesciola quarter; the Church of Purgatory, commissioned in the 15th century by the Prince of Minervino; and the Church of San Michele, whose octagonal shape recalls nearby Castel del Monte.

Its title of "Balcony of Puglia" best captures the beauty and uniqueness of the views from Minervino Murge. Simply walk along the upper streets of the historic centre and look out from its many vantage points to admire the broad plain stretching as far as the foot of Mount Vulture. Visible from anywhere in Minervino Murge is the 'Faro' (Lighthouse), built in 1932, during the Fascist era, as a memorial to the town's war dead. From its small loggia the view extends from Mount Vulture (Basilicata) to the Gargano (Puglia).

One of Minervino's churches is listed among the foundations linked to the Abbey of Goleto.