By Marco and Stefano

1. Ruvo di Puglia
Edited by Stefano M. and Marco C.
IV C “L. C. Q.O. Flacco”
a. s. 2013-14
Bari

2. Since 1266 it became the fief of Ruvo and
entered among the domains of the Angevins,
with the whole Apulia. Despite this, the period
of peace and prosperity finished, because in
1350 the city was sacked and razed to the
ground by Roger Sanseverino.
During the Bronze Age, the area was inhabited
by Morgets, a local population.
Between eighth and fifth centuries B.C. Greeks
colonized peacefully Ruvo and from that
moment it took the name of "Ρυψ."
Around the fourth century B.C. the village
lived the moment of its
greatest splendor entertaining trade with most
of the Italic populations.
Ruvo history

3. Through this link you can take a virtual stroll in
the old town of Ruvo di Puglia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15qM6MH
ggQw
The Jatta collection of Greek ceramics,
exhibited in the museum, and a subterranean
found under the Co-Cathedral, demonstrate
that human civilization has lived in the area
since ancient times and Ruvo has an
underground reach in archaeological remains.
Unfortunately, very often they are difficult to
be found, because they are under modern
buildings, constructed without regard to the
goods under the surface.
In fact, the archaeological discoveries have
occurred not only in the countryside but also
in the town.
Archaeological sites of Ruvo

4. The construction of the Via Traiana dates back
to the second century A.D., when the Emperor
Trajan provided for the monumentality of an
ancient stretch of road that united
Beneventum to Bruindisium, to facilitate
communication with the East; it is a variant of
the most famous Appian Way, built from the
end of the fourth century. B.C. with the
purpose of connecting Rome to the Adriatic.
The road was inaugurated in 113 A.D. and the
event was celebrated in Beneventum, where
the route began with the construction of a
triumphal arch, still visible today; Brundisium
in the final stretch of the road was marked by a
monument dedicated in 110 A.D. and known
only thanks to an honorary inscription.
Among the most well-known countries crossed
by the Via Traiana there are Ordona, Canosa,
Bitonto, Egnatia and Ruvo di Puglia.
Via Traiana 1

5. The stretch of road that runs along the Trajan
Way in Ruvo divides the historic center of the
old part of the city.
Around the fourth century, Ruvo reached its
peak extending its terrritory, and came to coin
its own money.
During the Middle Ages the Via Traiana was an
important way of exchange of goods and
cultures.
Via Traiana 2

6. The National Archaeological Museum Jatta in
Ruvo di Puglia was set up in some of the rooms
of the Palazzo Jatta and it is the only exxample
of a private collection of nineteenth-century in
Italy, still remained unaltered from the original
museological conception. The exhibits in the
museum were collected by John Jatta in the
early nineteenth century, the museum was
later enriched by the homonymous grandson
and was sold to the State in the twentieth
century.
Jatta Museum 1

7. The fortuitous discovery in 1820 of ancient vases in the ground unleashed a
veritable treasure hunt and all Ruvo was turned upside down, not so much
with the interest to establish a museum or to obtain useful historical
information, but with the intent to sell valuable pieces with the aim of a
personal gain.
Two years later there was the boom of the excavations and also the first
intellectuals began to take an interest in the findings. Some noble families
from Ruvo, such as Caputi, Phoenicia, Jatta, Lojodice and others, instituted
private museums.
Among these the most famous is the Jatta Museum.
Jatta Museum 2

8. By Marco end Stefano
from Bari