The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the first time in the
Tabula Peutingeriana , a
13th Century copy of an ancient Roman
Itinerary . The name, also spelled ''Tirenum'', was that of the
Greek Hero Diomêdês . The city was later occupied by the
Lombards and the
Byzantine s. First certain news of an urban settlement in Trani, however, trace back only to the
9th Century .
The most flourshing age of Trani was the
11th Century , when it become a bishop seat in lieu of
Canosa , destroyed by the
Saracen s, and its port developed greatly thanks to its favourable starting position for the
Crusades , becoming the most important on the
Adriatic Sea . In the year
1000 Trani issued the ''Ordinamenta Maris'', which are considered today the most ancient maritime codex of Middle Ages. In that period families from the main Italian Mariner Republics (
Amalfi ,
Pisa and
Venice ) established in Trani, who already housed the largest
Jew colony of
Southern Italy , which were the most important economic nucleum of the city. Trani, in turn, mantained a
Consul in
Venice from
12th Century . The presence of other consulates in many northern Europe centres, even in England and Netherlands, shows Trani's trading and political importance in the Middle Ages.
Frederick II Of Sicily built a massive castle in Trani. Under his rule, in the early
13th Century , the city reached its highest point of richness and prosperity.
Trani entered a crisis under the
Anjou and
Aragonese rule (
14th -
16th Centuries ), as its Jewish component was persecuted. Under the
House Of Bourbon , however, Trani recovered a certain splendour, thanks to the generally improved condition of Southern Italy economy and the construction of several magnificent buildings. Trani was province capital until the
Nepoleonic age, when
Joachim Murat deprived it of this status in favour of
Bari . In
1799 , moreover, the French troops provoked a massacre of Trani's population, as it had adhered to the
Neapolitan Republic .
Trani has lost its old
City Wall s and
Bastion s, but the
13th-century Gothic Citadel is used as a
Prison . Some of the streets remain much as they were in the
Medieval period, and many of the houses display more or less of
Norman decoration.
The main monument of Trani is the , dedicated to St. Nicholas the Pilgrim, a
Greek assassinated at Trani in
1094 and canonized by
Urban II . It lies on a raised open site near the sea, and was consecrated, before its completion, in
1143 . It is a basilica with three apses, built in the characteristic white local
Limestone . It has also a large
Crypt and a lofty tower, the latter erected in
1230 -
1239 by the architect whose name appears on the ambo in the cathedral of
Bitonto , Nicolaus Sacerdos. It has an
Arch under it, being supported partly on the side wall of the church, and partly on a massive pillar. The arches of the
Romanesque portal are beautifully ornamented, in a manner suggestive of
Arab influence; the bronze doors, executed by Barisanus of Trani in
1175 , rank among the best of their period in
Southern Italy . The capitals of the pillars in the crypt are fine examples of the Romanesque. The interior of the cathedral has been widely modernized, but the crypt remains simlar to the origins.
Near the
Harbor is the Gothic , which is now used as a
Seminary . The '''Church of the Ognissanti''' has a Romanesque relief of the
Annunciation over the door. '''San Giacomo''' and '''San Francesco''' also have Romanesque
Facade s; the latter, together with '''Sant'Andrea''', have
Byzantine domes.
The vicinity of Trani produces an excellent
Wine , Moscato di Trani; and its
Fig s,
Olive Oil ,
Almond s and
Grain are also profitable articles of trade.
