MURGEOPARK PRESENTS
OUR ITINERARIES
From Belvedere to Belvedere
A tour of the most evocative geological landscapes of the Alta Murgia Park, vincluding villages and viewpoints, rock-hewn churches, quarries, caves and forests. Minervino Murge is also called the “balcony of Puglia”, with breathtaking landscapes, both natural and man-made, such as the huge limestone quarries. Here we find Lama Matitani, which cuts through the stratifications of the Murgian Highlands, and the Michaelic Cult cave of Saint Michael’s Grotto. Spinazzola is added to the itinerary, with sensa-tional views of the Premurgia Bradanica to the north and splendid views of Mount Vulture, both from the historic Rocchetta Sant’An-tonio railway and the rocky archaeological site of Grottelline. The jewel in the crown of this area are the red shades of the Bauxite mines in the Murgetta Rossa district and the “invisible” Garagnone Castle with its Rocca Carsica. To the south of Garagnone, we also find the small town of Poggiorsini with its panoramic Belvedere (geosite of regional importance) overlooking the southern Brada-nic Trough.
Where: Minervino Murge – Spinazzola – Poggiorsini
Other Interests:
Archaeology; Speleology; Religion; Architecture; Biodiversity; Ancient History; Modern History; Food and Wine
Beetween History and Habitat Cave
Gravina in Puglia is known as the “City of Water and Stone” because of its outcropping rock and its canyon-like fluvial incision also known as ‘La Gravina’ (The Ravine). The Gravina Canyon was modelled by water and the uplift of the Murge in the Quaternary period. Its history is lost in time, where we find marine sediments spread in sections all along the ravine, as an evolution of the whole Adriatic region. These sediments are rich in fossils, the rocks allow the excavation and modelling of epigaean and hypogean settle-ments ranging from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age. The landscape is a succession of several carvings in the rock on which we find an enormous heritage culminating in its architecture. Aqueducts and underground canals are able to supply the city even in times of low rainfall. Gravina in Puglia was the birthplace of one of the most important Italian geologists of the 19th century: Arcangelo Scacchi.
Where: Gravina in Puglia
Other Interests:
Archaeology; Urban Speleology; Literature; Architecture; Biodiversity; Ancient History; Modern History; Food and Wine
Paleocity
Surrounded by the green hills and steep escarpments of the Alta Murgia of Bari, Altamura, also known as the “Lioness of Apulia”, is the city of the Romanesque Federician Cathedral and PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) bread. Its territory, inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the Megalithic Walls (Alum Murum in Germanic Latin means “Ancient Wall”), was re-founded in medieval times by Emperor Frederick II of Swabia. Altamura tells stories of dinosaurs, with one of the largest footprint sites in the world, stories of prehistoric men, of epigean and hypogean karst environments such as the huge Pulo sinkhole or the Faraualla and Preveticelli caves. It is also home to classical necropolises, medieval stone architecture and war installations from the First and Second World Wars, in a fascinating historical landscape, rich in biodiversi-ty and unique agronomic varieties, linked to the nature of the rocky substrate where they reside.
Where: Altamura
Other Interests:
Palaeoanthropology; Archaeology; Speleology; Architecture; Biodiversity; Ancient History; Modern History; Food and Wine
In the Shadow of Federico
The memory of Frederick II of Swabia, the “Stupor Mundi”, is present everywhere on the territory of the Alta Murgia National Park. Through this itinerary you will be able to look for evidence and hints linked to the Holy Roman Emperor, while being captured by beauti-ful colours and shapes. In the Andria area, you will be able to disco-ver the Gurgo geosite, one of the largest karstic dolines in Apulia, and Castel del Monte. The octagonal fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, possesses exceptional universal value due to the perfection of its shapes, its harmony and the fusion of various cultural elements. It was built with blocks of Murgian limestone and embellished with architectural details made of rock from the Gargano Promontory. The itinerary then continues to Corato, where a section of the Appian Way and Trajan Way can be travelled along with typical karst landscapes, poorly marked lamas and traditional regimentation of surface waters with dry-stone walls. Olive and almond monocultures predominate in this area, as well as ephemeral and steppe-like spontaneous vegetation that explodes into ephemeral river incisions in the Mediterranean scrub. Deviating briefly from the itinerary, you can reach the Necropolis of tumulus tombs from the Late Bronze Age (7th – 6th century B.C.) located in the “San Magno” district.
Where: Andria – Corato
Other Interests:
Archaeology; Speleology; Architecture; Biodiversity; Ancient History; Modern History; Religion; Food and Wine
Karst Landscape of the Murgia of Ruvo di Puglia
The itinerary develops mainly in the Ruvo di Puglia area, between the ancient village and the surrounding Murgian territory. A journey among large masserie and sheep shelters in which ancient legends and traditions linked to sheep-farming and rural activities are intertwined, like collecting scarce water resources by means of limestone rocks, intercepting deep water flaps typical of karst territories, or creating rainwater tanks in the most unthinkable places. The itinerary continues towards Bitonto at Jazzo Pietre Tagliate, a jewel of rural architecture with its still clearly visible perimeter walls and farmhouses. Reforestation, which provides shade and mitigates soil erosion during periods of intense – and yet ephemeral – rainfall, interrupts the monotony of the Murgian pastures and channels water into an immense lama: the Tifris River. This incision joins the Park to the Adriatic Sea serving as an ecological corridor: it starts in Ruvo di Puglia, takes on the form of a canyon in Bitonto and flows into Bari under the name Lama Balice. Today, it is the largest protected regional park in the Province of Bari.
Where: Ruvo di Puglia – Bitonto
Other Interests:
Geomorphology; Karst Phenomena; Stratigraphy; Palaeontology; Hydrogeology; Mineralogy
Southern Premurgia
A tour dedicated to the multi-faceted karst rock and its passage through the southernmost area of the park from north to south towards the deposits of the Bradanic Trough. This territory is shaped by the action of water and the hand of man. Here you will find a landscape riddled with ravines and deep cavities, scattered with stone constructions such as trulli and dry-stone walls. The landscape between Santeramo in Colle and Laterza is unique, almost “lunar”, with progressive descending terraces separated by faults and flat terraced deposits overlooking deep and imper-vious incisions such as the ravines. This diversity encompasses a rich natural, faunal and geological heritage. The main issue here, too, is man’s ability to make use of the few sources of water for traditional agriculture and animal husbandry, which today beco-mes an example of sustainability in maintaining the precarious planetary climate
Where: Santeramo in Colle – Laterza
Other Interests:
Archaeology; Speleology; Architecture; Biodiversity; Ancient History; Modern History; Religion; Food and Wine
The Lower Murgia
Carbonate and stony landscape affected by peculiar karst phenomena, such as sinkholes, lamas, and caves of great charm and sometimes inhabited by man in prehistoric times. The area, including the water basin that flows into Bari (Conca di Bari), just like the whole park, preserves rock sculptures of incredible visual impact, shaped by water and human activity with important reforestation works aimed at mitigating the power of water in rainy seasons. This is the raison d’être of the Foresta Mercadante (forest), a precious Apulian green lung planted in the 1920s to fight soil erosion and the risk of flooding. The route touches on Grumo Appula with its lamas, Toritto with its olive and almond trees, Cassano Murge with its forest and Acquaviva delle Fonti with its underground wells that give the town its name, thus outlining the outflow of water from the southern portion of the Park to the Adriatic Sea, creating an endless network of ecological corridors for fauna and flora
Where: Grumo Appula – Toritto – Cassano Murge – Acquaviva delle Fonti
Other Interests:
Palaeoanthropology; Archaeology; Speleology; Architecture; Biodiversity; Ancient History; Modern History; Food and Wine
