1. a cura della prof.ssa Lucia Maiullari

2. Altamura
Altamura is located in the south-east of Italy in
the region of Apulia. It’s 45 km far from Bari
and only 25 km from Matera the city famous for
the Sassi belonging to the Unesco patrimony.
The town has got 70.000 people and it belongs
to the territory of the national park of alta
murgia.
It was built on a hill 477 metres on the level sea.
Its name means high walls because it was
sourronded by hight stone walls whose ruins
can be visited still todey.

3. Altamura

4. Altamura and the cloisters
The cloister represents a peculiar town planning typology in
Altamura. It is a mixture between a Greek courtyard and an
It derives from the Latin claustrum and means closed. It fact
there is no exit. The entrance is narrow and has got an arch
that may be closed with a main door, leading to a rectangular
square or to an irregular open space.
The architectural plan of that time considered the growing
population: Latins, Greeke, Jews, Saracens. In each cloister
there was one of these homogeneous ethnic groups.
The four main streets, in the shape of a Greek cross divided
the city into four areas with four gates which closed the city
like a fortress. The main streets were connected by narrow
streets which branched off towards the cloister.

5. Altamura and the cloisters

6. Altamura and the cloisters

7. Altamura and the cloisters

8. The Cathedral of Altamura
Altamura Cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Altamura,
in Apulia, in southern Italy.
It was built by Emperor Frederick II in 1232, and became one of the
most venerated sanctuaries in Apulia. In 1248, under pressure from
Frederick, Pope Innocent IV declared Altamura exempt from the
jurisdiction of the bishop of Bari, making it a "palatine" church,
one of four in Apulia.
The current orientation of the church is opposite to the original
one, although it is not known if the change dates to Robert of
Anjou's reign (early 14th century) or to the enlargement carried
out in 1521-1547. The northern portal dates from Robert's time,
while the second bell tower, the altar area and the sacristy were
added in the 16th century. From the 18th century are the upper
parts of the
two bell towers and the small loggia between them.

9. The Cathedral of Altamura

10. The Cathedral of Altamura

11. The Cathedral of Altamura

12. The Cathedral of Altamura

13. The Cathedral of Altamura

14. The Man of Altamura
On October 7th, 1993 it was accidentally discovered '"Man of
Altamura", only remnants of the human skeleton intact middle
and lower Paleolithic.
The findings discovered in the cave of Lamalunga is one of the
greatest paleontological discoveries. The excellent state of
preservation, the integrity of the specimen, the absence of
deformation, and the presence of the skull, whole, represent a
good opportunity for a better understanding and definition of
the mechanisms of evolution that led to the population of
Europe and the cycle Neanderthal . The skeleton is in fact
attributable to an adult male height of 160 to 165 cm, the skull
has both the archaic features that these morphological
transformations, settle himself in Neanderthal populations,
allowing you to place it in the group of fossils from the Middle
Pleistocene European or between the forms of Homo erectus
(400,000 years ago) and the typical forms of the Neanderthals
(85,000 years ago), in a transition that is, estimated to be
about 200,000 years ago.

15. The Man of Altamura
“Ciccillo”

16. The quarry of dinosaurs
In places Pontrelli, were discovered in 1999 on an area of ​ twelve
thousand square meters, about thirty thousand dinosaur
footprints. The importance of this discovery (currently this is
the site richest and most important in Europe and perhaps the
world) is i the great biodiversity that characterized the
individuals present at the same time in the same place.
The footprints date back to the Late Cretaceous, between 70
and 80 million years ago, when the climate in Puglia was kind of
tropical (hot and humid), and indicate the presence of more
than two hundred animals, belonging to at least five different
groups of dinosaurs, herbivores and carnivores also.

17. The quarry of dinosaurs
The size of the prints range from 5-6 cm up to 40-45 cm, suggesting
that it faces to animals as high as 10 meters. In many prints you can
even read the folds of the skin. This exceptional state of preservation
of the footprints is most likely due to the presence of a wetland from
the muddy bottom, with carpets of algae that have led to the
hardening of the impression. In many fingerprint is in fact still visible
the small wave of mud generated at the moment when the animal has
the paw resting on the ground. From fingerprint reader and especially
the slopes, or a series of at least three consecutive footfalls, or three
pairs hand - foot in the case of four-legged animals, leave from the
same animal in motion, it appears as gaits are normal, no signs of
panic , reflecting the fact that it was a normal movement of animals
while grazing peacefully in a presumably lagoon.
The amount of fingerprints and their sizes you can easily realize the
really large amount of vegetables that had to be present on site to
meet the survival needs of many animals.
One of the tracks identified belongs to a Ceropode (herbivorous
dinosaur, quadruped, of medium tonnage): it reveals an uncertainty of
its development, perhaps a sudden change of pace, to avoid an
obstacle or suddenly change direction.

18. The quarry of dinosaurs

19. The quarry of dinosaurs

20. The quarry of dinosaurs

21. Bread
The Altamura bread is a bakery product Protected
Designation of Origin (PDO) coming from the town
of Altamura.
This is a typical Pugliese bread made from a dough of
​
durum wheat semolina very rich in gluten (arrives up
to 14%), sourdough and baked in the oven.

22. Bread

23. Bread

24. Bread

25. Museum
The Municipal Museum was founded in Altamura in 1891
and although having its ups and downs survived until
1909, the year in which due to: “the city’s lack of interest
for the needs of the institution” it was permanently shut
down.
Following important archaeological discoveries behind
the old town area, at the end of the 1950’s, due to the
lively construction activity generated by the post-war
economic revival, the idea of an Archaeological Museum
was revived by a few erudite individuals from the city’s
Municipal Library and Archive. Excavations had been
carried out already on the site of La Croce since 1960
and the decision to locate the new museum on the
archaeological site was made immediately. Construction
of the building began in 1964 and was completed in 1978.

26. Museum

27. Museum

28. Saverio Mercadante
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised
17 September 1795 – 17 December 1870) was
an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While
Mercadante may not have retained the international
celebrity of Gaetano Donizzetti or Gioacchino
Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as
impressive a number of works as either; and his
development of operatic structures, melodic styles
and orchestration contributed significantly to the
foundations upon which Giuseppe Verdi built his
dramatic technique

29. Saverio Mercadante

30. Theater Mercadante
On 27 October 1894, during a meeting of the Municipal
Council of Altamura, initiatives were established to pay tribute
to Francis Xavier
Mercadante the centenary of his birth, which runs throughout
September 17 of the following year. A group of notables
formed, on this occasion, a committee for the construction of
a plant to devote to theater musician Altamura.
In January 1895 was drafted the Statute of the Consortium
whose members, through a subscription, made sure, in
​
relation to the amount paid, the property of a platform or a
seat in the audience. The commitment of the members was to
build the theater in just 7 months. Of the three projects
presented by engineers Altamura De Nora, Miglionico and
Striccoli, was chosen the one proposed by the latter. The site
indicated wide Bakers in Port Matera, close to the garden and
Cagnazzi High School, was a free land owned by the city,
beyond the ancient walls with the ability to build wide roads
around the building, comfortable for 'public access.

31. Theater Mercadante
In its report, Striccoli did not fail to draw the attention even the
aesthetic value of the chosen area:
"What the site in question aesthetically may contain a theater,
it is indisputable and sufficient to prove, not only the project of
accommodation that we present, but the proximity of a public
landscape, a beautiful large settled, that other temple of
education , which is the Board Cagnazzi and, what is more than
all, the smile of nature, which is the most picturesque view that
claims our city. "
Eng. Vincenzo Striccoli, math teacher at the local High School
and director of the Municipal Technical Office, offered his
services free. At 17, March 25, 1895, was laid the first stone of the
theater, which, in its main building, was completed in time to
be inaugurated on 17 September of the same year.

32. Theater Mercadante

33. Theater Mercadante

34. Our school
Our school is named after TOMMASO FIORE
(Altamura 1884 - Bari 1973)
He was a great humanist and politician.
Democratic interventionist at the outbreak of
the 1st World War in '20 was one of the
founders of the Movement of Fighters. Always
fought for autonomy and federalism Southern
Italy, and alongside Salvemini worked intensely
against the transformation and degeneration of
public life. He collaborated with "Liberal
Revolution" and "The Fourth Estate" Nenni and
Rosselli formulated a socialist program for the
noon

35. Our school
The State School Secondary Grade I "Tommaso
Fiore" Altamura (Ba) was established in 1975 by
decree n ° 5620-2D 02.07.1975. The current
building, built in 1989, is equipped with wide
green spaces, is luminous and divided into
three levels, presents no architectural barriers
and lift, meets the current safety regulations.
September 1, 2012, Dr. Eufemia Patella,
Headmistress of IV Didactic St. Giovanni Bosco
Altamura, assumed the regency of our school.

36. Our school
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES :
-INDEPENDENCE, understood as a gradual transition from
dependency to a gradual assumption of increasing
responsibility.
-SELF-ESTEEM, such as self-awareness in order to enhance
their skills and to make independent and informed decisions.
-RESPECT OF PERSON, as acceptance of self and others, of
their own and others things.
-SOLIDARITY, a sharing of responsibility, awareness of the
same purposes to be achieved and consequent willingness to
help each other.
-TOLERANCE, such as acceptance of diversity and respect for
the rights of all.
-PARTICIPATION, as the ability to closely monitor the
activities, to offer willingly and responsibly ideas.
-LEARNING MOTIVATION, as a necessary condition for
starting long learning.

37. Our school

38. Our school

39. Our school

40. Tommaso Fiore
Tommaso Fiore (Altamura, March 7, 1884 - Bari, June 4, 1973) was an
Italian writer and politician. Born into a working class family, after
his classical studies at the university, became a teacher in the high
school classics. Meridionalista convinced of the socialist always
fought for autonomy and federalism Southern Italy, he was leading a
group of young intellectuals and supervised the conditions of the
South and, in particular, those of the peasants. Became the mayor of
Altamura in 1920 and was a radical opponent of Fascism. He was
imprisoned in 1942 and in 1943 to the intense anti-fascist
propaganda.
He collaborated with "The liberal revolution" of Piero Gobetti and
"Fourth State" of Pietro Nenni and Carlo Rosselli, where he published
a socialist program for the South.
He lost his son Graziano in the “Massacre of Bari” on 28 July 1943.
In 1948, he introduced Senate candidate in the constituency of
Altamura. But voters preferred Giacinto Genco, notable Democrat.
Immediately after the war was in charge of the teaching of Latin
letters in the university studies of Bari and was also superintendent
studies.

41. Tommaso Fiore

42. Music: Saverio Mercadante –
Il Montanaro - Sinfonia
By Vito Bordo