The 6 Best Historic Walking Areas in Canosa di Puglia, Puglia

Complex archaelogical site to east south of the city, whose rests are witness of two important historical moments. The hill was select for the building of the most imposing italic temple in southern Italy, devoted to the goddess Minerva - Atena Ilias, with the probable purpose to enact ideologically and politically the alliance among the native "princes" and the Romans in the 318 a.C. The pagan temple, used for the whole Roman epoch, was destoyed during the V sec.AD, probably to work of the bishop Rufino, to give life to the extraordinary basilica to central plant - the greatest Palaeochristian building of Apulia - devoted to the SS. Cosma and Damiano and only subsequently to S. Leucio. Among the elements survisors of the temple there is the Corinthian capital with femalepropome (Giunone?), the drums of numerous grooved columns, the feet of a gigantictelamone. Elegant columns surmonted by wonderfull ionic, polychrome capitals as the splendid one "mosaic of the peacock", characterize the Christian building.

Found in early '900 from the owner of the land, it was lost ad fortunately found again in 1970. It is known for the wealth of arcaeological finds such as ceramic with vascular shapes (from IV sec BC until the end of III sec. BC). Actually the ceramics are exposed in the rooms of Sinesi Palace.

In the Antiquarium are exposed some archaeological finds found during many excavation campaign made in the archaeological site, from the early'900 until the last, under the scientific direction of Prof. P.Pensabene from the University La Sapienza in Rome.

The most important funeral complex of Canusium and of the whole region between IV and I century BC composed by three separate hypogeums. Dug underground enttirely in the tufo, the greatest is characterized by an ample dròmos (corridor) of access and from nine among rooms and hallways that issue from it forming a Latin cross plant, and decorated with ionic halfcolumns. Architecturally similar to the coeval funeral structures of Greek and Macedonian area, are these the "abodes" of the dead persons belonging to the rich native aristocratic class, the so-called ones "princes" of Daunia.