The Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral in Trani

With its monumental grandeur, all in white, it dominates the historic center of the Apulian town and is tied hand in glove with the story of St. Nicholas the Pilgrim, landed in Trani close of his death and author of several miracles (and thus canonized).

Its ‘whiteness’ is due to the stone used in its construction, a limestone tuff extracted just from the quarries of Trani.

Of Apulian-Romanesque style, the cathedral practically stands next to the sea, so as to arouse a charming visual effect that makes the religious building ‘suspended’ on the water.

Begun in 1099, the cathedral was consecrated even before its completion (reached about in 1200, except for the bell tower).

It housed the relics of St. Leucio – later stolen – and then, at the bottom of the church, the remains of St. Nicholas.

Since its facade you can senses the influence of Arab architectural styles, although the same resembles the archetypes of Pisa.

The bronze portal was built by Barisano from Trani in 1180: it is accessed via a double flight of stairs. Also on the facade are visible three windows and a small rose window, decorated with animal figures.

Dominating the entire building we find the bell tower, added later to the completion of the Cathedral.

Entering the church, you immediately notice the tripartite division into aisles and the very bare feature of the religious building (once apparently much more ‘lavish’).

The lower part is the one that still retains the original details and features, and is divided into two crypts: that of St. Nicholas, where there are indeed the relics of the saint, and that of St. Mary.

To get to the place where there were the relics of St. Leucio you must proceed along a ladder: inside the hypogeal (located below sea level) there are some frescoes hopelessly compromised by the poor state of conservation.

There are still some elements of the original mosaic flooring: among them, even the episode of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve.