What to see in Gravina in Puglia in 2 days

Why visit Gravina in Puglia in 2 days

Gravina in Puglia is one of southern Italy's most spectacular yet least known cities. Overlooking a deep canyon carved by the Gravina stream, it resembles a wilder, less tourism-tamed Matera. Rock churches, a vertiginous aqueduct-bridge, a historic center of noble palaces and hidden hypogea: all this less than an hour from Bari, yet still off the mass tourism circuit.

Day 1: The Canyon and the Old Town

Morning (9:00 - 13:00)

Start with the **Aqueduct Bridge** (Ponte Viadotto), Gravina's symbol: a two-tiered arched bridge spanning the canyon at 37 meters. The view over the ravine with caves inhabited in medieval times is breathtaking. Dedicate 30 minutes for photos and contemplation.

Descend to the **Rione Fondovico**, the oldest quarter directly overlooking the gravina. Seek the **Rock Church of San Michele delle Grotte**: carved into tuff, it preserves 13th-century Byzantine frescoes. Continue to the **Church of Madonna della Stella**, also rock-hewn, accessible via stairs carved into the cliff (time: 1 hour for both).

Climb back to the **Cathedral** (Santa Maria Assunta): Romanesque facade with rose window, reworked interior but with an interesting crypt. From in front, the panorama over the gravina is exceptional.

Afternoon (15:00 - 18:30)

Explore the **upper old town**: Via Tribunali, Via Roma, Piazza Notar Domenico. Here you'll find noble palaces (Palazzo Pomarici-Santomasi, housing the museum) and Baroque churches. The **Museo Pomarici-Santomasi** (1 hour) collects artifacts from prehistory to rupestrian civilization.

Don't miss the **underground wine cellars**: beneath many center palaces, caves used for centuries for wine storage open up. Some are visitable (ask at the tourist office). The Via Lauria area hides the most extensive underground networks.

Evening

Dinner in the old town: Murgia dishes with lampascioni (wild onions), fava beans with chicory, orecchiette with turnip tops. Primitivo di Gioia del Colle (produced right on the Murgia) accompanies everything. An evening walk across the bridge at sunset closes the day.

Day 2: Nature, Hypogea and the Murgia

Morning (9:00 - 12:30)

Dedicate the morning to the **Alta Murgia National Park**: depart from **Bosco Difesa Grande** (5 km from center), an oak forest on karst plateau. The main loop trail (about 5 km, 1.5 hours) is flat and crosses clearings where raptors are commonly spotted.

Alternatively, the path along the **gravina** on the opposite bank (marked trail from Botromagno) offers the most dramatic view of the old town suspended over the cliff. Time: 1 hour, minimal elevation change.

Afternoon (14:30 - 17:30)

Visit the **Church of Santa Maria del Suffragio** (sumptuous Apulian Baroque) then move to the archaeological site of **Botromagno** (hill south of the city): here stood ancient Sidion, a Peucetian then Roman city. The remains are scattered but the panorama over the city and Murgia is vast.

Before leaving Gravina, seek out **Palazzo Orsini** (now part of the seminary) with its Renaissance loggia, and the **Biblioteca Finya** in the crypt of San Basilio: one of the oldest underground libraries in the south.

Evening

Last evening: Gravina focaccia (different from Bari's, crispier), stuffed calzone, and local sweets. The osterias in the Piaggio neighborhood are the most authentic.