DISCOVER APULIA

Acquaviva delle Fonti is a town in the province of Bari. It has about 22.000 inhabitants, 300 meters above sea level.
It is renowned for its “red onion” and for the “Ente Ecclesiastico Ospedale Regionale Francesco Miulli”, one of the oldest hospital in Apulia, first built in 1158. It is named after the aquifer, an underground layer of water, in Italian “falda acquifera”. The coat of arms is represented by a fountain with spilling water. Local inhabitants are referred to as acquavivesi.   HISTORY  During the centuries Acquaviva delle Fonti has been conquered by the Normans, the Suebi, the House of Anjou and the Crown of Aragona. In 1456 the fief of Acquaviva was given as dowry to Caterina, daughter of the Prince of Taranto, Giovanni Antonio Orsini. She also received the fiefs of Noci, Turi, Conversano Castellana, Bitetto and Gioia. In 1614 the marquisate of Acquaviva was sold because of financial difficulties. It was initially bought by a Genoese businessman and after his death was bought by Assigliano Carlo de Mari, a Genoese marquis. He set his residence in the Norman castle renovating it as a beautiful palace. Afterwards he also bought the fief of Castellaneta and thereby starting the De Mari dynasty. The reign of the De Mari family have been notorious for their despotism and their exploitation of the people of Acquaviva. Their supremacy ended in 1806 with the abolition of feudalism.    MONUMENTS AND SIGHTS OF INTEREST · Saint Eustachio’s Cathedral · Palazzo De Mari · Watchtower · La Cassarmonica (Monument) · Astronomical Observatory