Giovinazzo - Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

The area around Giovinazzo had settlements already in Greek times, a place named Natolium was rebuilt in Roman times after it had been completely destroyed during the Punic wars. In the 7th century, it was held by the Lombards, then by the Byzantines, before the Norman conquest started and it developed to a Norman castrum under Robert the Guiscard.

The Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta stands on the site of an older church known as "Santa Maria de Episcopio". The cathedral was erected between 1125 and 118 in the "Apulian Romanesque" style.
Nothing of this style can be found inside, as the interior got completely remodelled according to the Baroque taste of the time between 1730 and 1752.