Monuments Apulia

Considering the most important speleological complex in Italy and Europe, they extend for about 3 kilometers between natural tunnels, colossal stalagmites and stalactites, caverns and limestone rocks.

The terminal Roman columns of the Via Appia Antica date back to the 3rd century AD, judging by the capital. These columns are testimony to Roman art. The columns are located close to some squares and are easily visible. At the beginning, there were two Roman Columns. Today there is only one left, located near the Port of Brindisi. The columns were built in marble and had a height of 18.74 meters. An inscription is readable on the column pedestal. Many assumptions about the placement of the columns, but the most reliable is linked to the celebratory purpose. The construction of the two twin columns is thought to date back to the period II — III centuries. The remaining Column is the emblem of the city.

The Colossus of Barletta, better known as Heraclius, is a gigantic bronze statue, 4.50 m high, dating back to the 5th century. Located in front of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre of Barletta, the work, of Byzantine workmanship, probably depicts Emperor Theodosius.

The temple of Poseidon or Doric temple of Taranto is among the oldest times of Magna Grecia and is the only place of Greek worship, still visible in the Old Village. Of this ancient temple you can see today only the two columns of Doric order and also a base with 3 drums. According to testimonies, the temple is assumed to date back to the 5th and 8th century.

It represents one of the symbols of the city, it is located in the port and was built of reinforced concrete to commemorate the approximately 6,000 sailors who fell during World War I and the 33,900 sailors who fell in the second. It is a monument in the form of a rudder 53 meters high in reinforced concrete covered with carparo. It was built between 1932 and 1933.

The Piscero - Antico Lavatoio presents itself as a longitudinal structure and a narrow elbow tunnel with its cross vault. It was originally used by women to do laundry. The waters came from an internal spring that ran for about forty meters.

The monument to the Sailor is dedicated to all sailors of the Italian Navy and is located in the new village of Taranto. It is made of bronze and is about seven meters tall. The monument was positioned to 'greet' the boats that crossed the canal that connects the Great Sea with the Small Sea. The monument is now located at the port of Taranto.

The Franciscan Basilica of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, today a national monument: it was commissioned and made by Raimondello Orsini del Balzo and consecrated in 1391.

Near the Island of Caprara it is possible to take a dive to visit the largest underwater statue, that of Padre Pio. The bronze statue has fallen to about thirteen meters deep to a height of three meters and eighty centimeters. It was placed in 1998 and the work is by the sculptor Matteo Norcia. Another element that makes the island backdrop really fascinating.

The island's seabed is rich in 'treasures' and wrecks of various eras. The oldest one dates back to the first century BC in 1550 is instead a Turkish boat found together with bronze cannons. Among the most important wrecks is a steamer belonging to the fleet of Garibaldi and the Thousand that sank into these waters in 1864. In the early 1980s, instead, a ship was discovered used for trade in the Mediterranean. It carried about 900 amphorae. Today it is located on these precious seabeds.

The Monument is a sculpture that was conceived by Floriano Bodini in 1988 dedicated to the Greek artist Virgil. The statue was built and placed right in Brindisi, in a small garden on the seafront, to honor the memory of Virgil because in Brindisi he spent the last period of his life and where he died in 19 B.C.

The Tower of Avetrana dates back to the end of the fourteenth century. The building has special architectural and decorative elements of Norman art (1050-1070) of Puglia. It belongs to medieval times. Deep restorations have altered the original structure. The Tower has a cylindrical shape, which is the oldest part, decorated with classic motifs of the 18th century.