Corato ( Barese: ) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is located in the

Metropolitan City of Bari The Metropolitan City of Bari ( it, Città Metropolitana di Bari) is a metropolitan city in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bari. It replaced the Province of Bari and includes the city of Bari and some forty other municipali ...

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, in southeastern Italy. Founded by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

, it became subject to Alfonso V, king of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, at the end of the 15th century, and later to the

Carafa Carafa is a surname held by: * Tony Carafa, Australian rules footballer * Members of the house of Carafa The House of Carafa or Caraffa is the name of an old and influential Neapolitan aristocratic family of Italian nobles, clergy, and men of a ...

family. The chief feature of the old town centre, which is surrounded by modern buildings, is the Romanesque church. It is a twin city of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, where many Coratini immigrated during the 20th century.

History

Corato was founded in 1046 by

Peter I of Trani Peter I (born before 1020), also known as Petronius (french: Pierron and it, Petrone or ), was the first Norman count of Trani. He was one of the most prominent of the twelve leaders of the Norman mercenaries serving Guaimar IV of Salerno. Thoug ...

, adding a castle, four angular towers, the perimetery enclosing walls, four access gates, and two main perpendicular streets. These elements, typical of a mediaeval town, were preserved until the 16th century. From the 17th century onwards Corato started to extend from all four sides of the Norman falling walls, and numerous churches and aristocratic palaces were built. Today Corato is an agricultural and industrial centre of the hinterland of Bari, placed west from it and at above sea level. It is well known for the olive production: the

Coratina There are hundreds of cultivars of the olive (''Olea europaea''). As one of the oldest and more important domesticated crops raised by humans, the olive tree has diverged naturally and with the assistance of man into many varieties. Olive cultivars ...

olive's name comes from Corato. On 12 July 2016, a head-on collision between two passenger trains occurred near Corato. At least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured.

Main sights

*The town hall, built in the 16th century as a monastery. *The Cathedral, Corato's oldest church, together with the San Vito church. It was built in the 12th century is Romanesque style. The portal features the statues of Jesus Christ, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist. *De Mattis Palace (15th century). It has a stone with diamond point covering the first level of the palace. At the corner is Patroni Griffi's emblem, an aristocratic family which owned this palace. The emblem represents a griffon (Griffi's coat of arms ) and a hand which holds an anchor (Patroni's coat of arms). *Catalano Palace, also from the 15th century. *The museum, once a prison. It includes two sections, devoted to historical-archeological and anthropological findings respectively.

History

Main sights

International relationships

References

External links