The current building, which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and probably towards the end of the thirteenth century, was built, by the will of Archbishop Rainaldo, on the ruins of the Byzantine cathedral destroyed by Guglielmo, on the portal there is an image of King Arthur.
I called the Malo (1156), of which it is still possible to observe on the right of the transept part of the original floor that extends under the central nave.
Architectural style: Romanesque architecture
Province: Province of Bari
Opening date: 1292
Bari was in fact the seat of the only Arab Emirate of Continental Italy, for some in the city the Grail is hidden, which had the task of protecting the knights leaving for the Crusades (the First Crusade left precisely from this city). The mysteries of Bari then intertwine with the Celtic culture. There are many references to Nordic myths such as to "Gargano" or to King Arthur that we meet in Bari even before his appearance in the Matter of Brittany. If this were not enough, the patron saint of the city is an oriental saint with dark skin, St. Nicholas, curiously linked to Santa Claus, whose bones continue to produce a thaumaturgy liquid called manna.
In 1200, Bari again became the scenario of the VI Crusade, also known as the Scomunicati. In fact, for having repeatedly apologized for not participating in it and above all for not wanting to fight a culture he had always appreciated, Frederick II was excommunicated by Gregory IX. In 1228, although excommunicated by the emperor, he left for the Holy Places, determined to reconquer Jerusalem with a new political strategy: Diplomacy.
It thus attempts to open negotiations with the Sultan of Egypt Malik al-Kamil, to obtain the return of Jerusalem.
However, Federico II will not be the only one to try the diplomatic route. In the same years another historical figure went to the Sultan to obtain the liberation of the holy places: St. Francis. Tommaso da Celano, one of the most important biographers of St. Francis of Assisi, tells us that on St. John's day in 1219, the friar left Ancona with the fleet of crusades for the Holy Land, probably in the company of other friars, to reach the port of San Giovanni d'Acri. Once he reaches that land now ravaged by the blood of numerous Christian champions and Islamic warriors, he arrives at the crusaders' camp with the aim of taking care of the souls of the fighters of the two camps.
It is certain that on his overseas visit the Saint came into contact with the Sultan Malik al-Kamil, Saladin's nephew. There are various stories and legends that tell of their meeting. In "I Fioretti" the friar, "... arriving in any district of Saracini, where one looked at the steps of such cruel men, that none of the Christians who passed by, could escape that he was not dead: and how God did not were dead, but taken, beaten and tied were and brought before the Soldano ... "and the text goes on to say" ... And being before him St. Francis, taught by the Holy Spirit preached so divinely of the faith of Christ, that [...] the Soldan he began to have great devotion in him, so for the constancy of his faith, yes for the contempt of the world that I saw in him, [...] Soldano heard him willingly, and he prayed that he often returned to him, freely granting him and to 'comrades who can preach wherever they please. And he gave them a signal, for which they could not be offended by a person ... "Francesco is therefore welcomed by the Sultan as a messenger of peace for the liberation of the holy places, and in fact he manages to obtain considerable benefits, the Friars Minor are authorized to remain in Jerusalem at the service of the western pilgrims, "conquest" which, until the middle of the nineteenth century, will allow the "Poverelli di Cristo" to be the only Western Catholic religious present in Palestine.
Cathedral of San Sabino
Address: Piazza della Odegitria, 1
Phone: 080 521 0605
Site:
https://www.arcidiocesibaribitonto.it/luoghi-di-culto/cattedrale/viewLocation inserted by
Paola Bonometti