page_title: Bari Cathedral
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Bari Cathedral / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Cathedral of San Sabino, Bari, Apulia, Italy. The crypt. Français&#160;: Cathédrale San Sabino, Bari, Pouilles, Italie. La crypte.
context_page_description: Bari Cathedral is the cathedral of Bari, in Apulia, southern Italy, senior to, though less famous than, the Basilica of St Nicholas in the same city. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto, as it was previously of the archbishops, earlier bishops, of Bari. It is dedicated to Saint Sabinus, a bishop of Canosa, whose relics were brought here in the 9th century.
  The present building was constructed between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, mostly in the last thirty years of the 12th century, and was built on the site of the ruins of the Imperial Byzantine cathedral destroyed in 1156 by William I of Sicily known as the Wicked; to the right of the transept it is still possible to observe traces of the original pavement which extends under the nave.
context_section_description: Stylistically, this is an important example of Apulian Romanesque. The simple façade has three portals of the 11th century below a rose window, over which is a lintel carved with monsters and fantastic beasts. The campanile is new, rebuilt from stone similar to that of the original, with an elaborate lantern tower and beneath, the dome of the cupola with clear Moorish motifs.
  Internally the cathedral is divided into three aisles of sixteen columns with arcades. The church, which had been overwhelmed by Baroque additions, has now been restored to the uncluttered beauty of the original Apulian Romanesque in the transept, in the false matroneum, and in the magnificent pulpit rebuilt from the same material as before.
  In the crypt are preserved the relics of Saint Sabinus, bishop of Canosa, in the larger altar. These were brought to Bari in 844 by Saint Angelarius, bishop of Canosa, who after the destruction of the city by the Saracens, rescued them from the ruins. The silver bust of Saint Sabinus that used to be here was transferred to the capitular archive, and now the icon of the Madonna Odegitria is venerated here: according to tradition this was brought from the Orient in the 8th century, but in reality it is later, although nevertheless a cult object of great antiquity.
  In the smaller apses are two sarcophagi: one contains the relics of Saint Columba, which has been restored, and various relics are kept in the other. In the sacristy to the right is located an altar with a painting which probably depicts Saint Maurus, named by tradition as the first bishop of Bari, in the 1st century.
  In the palace of the Curia, adjacent to the cathedral, is situated the Diocesan Museum, where the Exultet is displayed. This is a precious manuscript of Byzantine origin, finely illuminated. The images are upside down from the point of view of the priest reading the manuscript. In this way the faithful, when the celebrant was pronouncing the hymn of praise during the Easter Vigil, were able to look at the sacred drawings, and those who were unable to understand Latin could still have some idea of what was going on.
caption: The crypt
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