Bari Cathedral

Cattedrale di Bari has undergone so many changes that it is no longer possible to determine when the building was constructed. The primitive church was built in 1034 after the Bishop of Bisanzio had had an ancient church knocked down that was dedicated to Santa Maria. Completed around 1060, it was partially destroyed in 1156 by Guglielmo ill Malo, who razed the whole city of Bari to the ground. In 1166, it was rebuilt by the Archbishop Rainaldo. The facade is decorated with bears, horses, donkeys and a small bearded gnome who seems to have come from a forest in the North. Inside the crypt, on the altar, are the remains of San Sabino (to whom the church is dedicated).