History of Barletta

The first town at Barletta that, in Norman times, became an important commercial and fortified centre, formed around the church in the tenth century AD. The city had a strategic role in the control of the territory and was an important religious centre.

The heyday of the town was between the fourteenth and fifteenth century under the rule of the Angevins and Aragonese. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth century the city had, however, a remarkable period of crisis, from which it drew up only in the Napoleonic age, in the second half of the eighteenth century.

Today the town is an important Center for wine, fruit and vegetable trade, which has developed the tourism sector, related to the important artistic heritage of which it enjoys.

Etymology

According to the studies of G. Volpe, the ancient name of Barletta was “Bardulos”, a name which is mentioned in the “Tabula Peuntigeriana” (4th century AD) and in the “Itinerary of Antoninus” (“Itinerarium Antonini”, 6th century AD). Barletta was presumably a "Vicus" ( "village"), dating back to the fourth or third century BC. The ancient city had a port function, because it was located at the mouth of the river Ofanto (See G. Volpe, “La Daunia nell’Età della Romanizzazione, Edipuglia, 1990: 95-96). As regards the etymology, is now accredited the hypothesis that the Latin name "Bardulos" has its roots in the term "[...] 'bard-'. 'Mud' (from which, in the lexicon, the Provencal term 'Bart' and the Spanish and Portuguese 'barrio'. 'Bard-' also seems to go back to 'Barduli / Barruli' and “Barulos”, a name testified in 747 AD) (See, “Archivio per l’Alto Adige”, Istituto di studi per l’Alto Adige, 1962: 95). The hypothesis is confirmed by other studies; in fact, it seems that "Bard-", meaning "mud", is a term of Mediterranean origin (See “Studi Etruschi”, Vol. 34, 1966, p. 441