What is Bisceglie known for?

Five Bronze Age megalithic tombs around the commune, with the Chianca the largest and best-preserved in Italy. San Pietro, begun 1073 by Peter II of Trani, finished 1295, with a crypt built for the relics of three Beneventan martyrs. Blue Flag coastline north of Bari, shallow Adriatic with rocky coves and sand stretches, working fishing port still in use.

Bisceglie is a comune in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia region of Italy, about 44 kilometers from Bari.

Apulia · Barletta-Andria-Trani

Bisceglie

An Adriatic port town between Trani and Molfetta, named for Roman watchtowers, with five dolmens around it and a Norman cathedral begun in 1073.

44 km / 27 mi

Nearest hub (Bari)

53,534

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Bisceglie sits on the Adriatic coast between Trani and Molfetta, thirty-five kilometers north of Bari, at sea level on a low limestone shelf with the Murge rising inland. The name probably derives from the Latin vigilae, watchtowers, recording the Roman coastal lookouts that preceded the medieval town. Five Bronze Age dolmens stand around the commune; the Dolmen della Chianca, with a ten-meter passage and a burial cell two meters by 1.6, is the largest and best-preserved megalithic tomb in Italy. The Cathedral of San Pietro was begun in 1073 by Peter II of Trani and finished in 1295, its bones-relics translated to a purpose-built crypt under three altars in 1167. Bisceglie carries Bandiera Blu for its sea, Spighe Verdi for its olive countryside, and Città dell'Olio for the Coratina groves that surround it. The harbour still works, between commercial fishing and pleasure boats, and the Adriatic here is shallow and clean.

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Gallery

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Known for

Dolmen della Chianca
Bronze Age megalithic tomb with a 10-meter passage and a burial cell two by 1.6 meters, the largest and best-preserved Italian dolmen, three kilometers inland.
Concattedrale di San Pietro
Norman cathedral begun in 1073 by Peter II of Trani, finished in 1295, now co-cathedral in the Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie.
Torre Maestra
Norman square donjon of the twelfth century, twenty-seven meters tall, the surviving keep of the medieval citadel above the port.
Centro storico
Walled medieval town between the cathedral and the port, stone houses and narrow lanes, the limestone the same as the dolmens inland.
Spiaggia di Bisceglie
Bandiera Blu Adriatic coastline along the commune, rocky coves and small sand stretches, the most accessible swimming north of Bari.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September are the months the Adriatic warms enough to swim and the coastal restaurants stretch onto the sea wall. July and August push past thirty-three degrees and the beaches fill on weekends with day-trippers from Bari and Trani. June and September are the steadier months, water still warm, crowds thinner. April and October are mild but the sea is cool; the dolmens and the cathedral are the right targets in those months. November through March is grey, often windy, and the centro storico stays useful. The patronal feast of San Mauro Martire falls in late July and runs the port for a week.