Place to visit in San Severo
Within the rich and extensive historical centre, with its typically Mediaeval structure, it is well worth visiting: the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta; the ancient Church of San Severino, dedicated to the Patron Saint, with its Romanesque exterior and slender campanile topped by a pyramidal spire; the magnificent Rococo interior of San Nicola, with its monumental organ by Innocenzo Gallo; the numerous paintings of the Neapolitan School in the Church of San Giovanni Battista; the Church of San Lorenzo of the Benedictine Nuns; the towering alter piece by Gennaro Sanmartino in the Church of the Pietà; the nearby Carmelite Church, surmounted by an elegant dome tiled with majolica; the Church of San Francesco, annexed to the monastery of monastic Franciscan friars, which is today the site of the Civic Museum and the Biblioteca “Minunziano”; the Church of the Trinità, integral part of the Celestine monastery, in the very centre of the city; the elegant Church of Santa Maria di Constantinopoli of the Cappuchin Order; the delightful Rococo interior of the little Church of Santa Lucia; and then, there is the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso with its fine, 17th Century façade. Here is kept the statue of the dark skinned Patroness. Every year in May, celebrations that are quite unique and exciting, are held in honour of the Madonna and the Protecting Saints, Severinus and Severus. The festivities include a magnificent procession of the statues of the various Saints, accompanied by a barrage of intoxicatingly noisy “batteries” of fireworks, - a true masterpiece of the Baroque flair for the ephemerally spectacular, documented in San Severo since the early years of the 18th Century. |
 |
Other churches of historical interest are San Sebastiano fuori le mura (also known as the Rosario, or the Libera) with its statues and paintings; Santa Maria delle Grazie, a late Baroque shrine with three naves; Sant’Antonio abate, with its Neapolitan high altar; San Matteo (or San Bernardino), the only remains of the grandiose monastic complex of the Padri Zoccolanti, and in the crypt of the Church of Croce Santa, there is a beautiful stone Pietà from the early Renaissance.
A visit is also well advised to the rich Museo Diocesano (situated in the cellars of the eighteenth century Palazzo del Seminario), the Teatro Verdi, the nineteenth century Villa Comunale, and the typical wineries and cellars, some of which are practically underground cathedrals.
Places of historical, architectural or religious interest in the Daunia include:
- Foggia and the excavations of the ancient city of Arpi.
- Monte Sant’Angelo, with the grotto of the apparition of Archangel Saint Michael.
- The ruins of Castel Fiorentino, where, it is said, Federick II died.
- San Giovanni Rotondo, where Saint Pio of Pietrelcina is venerated, with the tomb of the Saint, and his hospital, the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza.
- The Gargano Promontory, a nature park ideal for enchanting summer holidays.
- The Forest of Umbra, a great, green lung in the midst of the Gargano.
- Lucera and the castle of Federick II
- The Via Sacra Longobardorum, which leads from San Severo to the Sanctuary of Archangel Saint Michael in Monte Sant’Angelo, passing through the Sanctuary of Stignano (near San Marco in Lamis), and San Giovanni Rotondo.
- Troia and its monumental Cathedral.
|
