Ruvo di Puglia is located just 7 km from Villa Gioia and it is part of the Murge karst landscape.
Ruvo boasts a long history rooted in legends and myth as witnessed by the heroes, gods and divinities. athletes, imaginary or real animals painted on the Greek, Magna Greek, and Iapigian ceramics preserved at the National Museum “Jatta”.
The museum is a unique and extraordinary example of 18th century collecting art: it displays rich thousands of rare historical, artistic, and archaeological finds. The old town centre, surrounded by airy tree avenues, develops around the 13th Cathedral, one of the finest example of Apulian Romanesque. Erected on a fraction of the old Roman town and on some Paleochristian buildings, it stands out for its beautiful portal , the decorations and the works of art kept inside the church. The facade has three portals and numerous decorations, depicting Christian symbols as well as griffins and other fantastic figures. There are two rose windows. The interior has a nave and two aisles ending with a transept. Among the numerous works of art are a wooden statue and the reliquary of Saint Blaise, a fresco portraying the Madonna and Child with St. Sebastian, a panel of the Virgin of Constantinople and a noteworthy wooden cross. Very close, under the Church of Purgatorio, the underground cave, known as “Grotta di S. Cleto”, claims the legendary Christian origins of Ruvo. The old town, one of the best preserved in the region, presents, along its lucid paved streets, a series of Renaissance noble palaces including Palazzo Spada, famous for its engraved balustrade. Among the worth-visiting churches we suggest the convents of St. Domenico and St. Michele Archangelo, rich of value paintings and statues.
Photo by Sailko, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
