The Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti ( la, Dioecesis Altamurensis-Gravinensis-Aquavievensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in

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

, southern Italy, created in 1986. In that year, the territorial prelature of Altamura e Acquaviva delle Fonti was united with the diocese of Gravina. The present diocese is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto."Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti"
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved September 30, 2016."Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved September 30, 2016. The seat of the bishop is at Altamura Cathedral, with Acquaviva Cathedral and

Gravina Cathedral Gravina Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Gravina; Basilica concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Gravina in Puglia, region of Apulia, Italy. It was previously the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Gravina. Since 1 ...

as co-cathedrals.

History

Altamura

Altamura Altamura (, ; nap, label= Barese, Ialtamùre) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basilic ...

was once a territorial prelature, founded in 1232 and endowed by the Emperor Frederick II, who declared it to be free and exempt from all episcopal jurisdiction. It was governed by an

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...

. It was declared exempt from episcopal jurisdiction by Pope Innocent IV in 1248, and again by

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII ( la, Innocentius VIII; it, Innocenzo VIII; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death in July 1492. Son of th ...

(1484–92). The Chapter of the major church of the territorial prelature of Altamura was composed of four dignities (the Archdeacon, the Cantor, the Primicerius, and the Treasurer) and twenty-four Canons, who had the right to use the ''cappa magna'' and rochet.

Acquaviva

Acquaviva delle Fonti, a town of the Campagna, was declared similarly exempt by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

and united with Altamura on 17 August 1848.

Diocesan Reorganization

Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, ''Christus Dominus'' chapter 40, It also recommended the abolition of anomalous units such as exempt territorial prelatures. Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy, beginning with consultations among the members of the Congregation of Bishops in the Vatican Curia, the Italian Bishops Conference, and the various dioceses concerned. On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed
new and revised concordat
Based on the revisions, a set of ''Normae'' was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, ''aeque personaliter'', was abolished. The Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the diocese of Gravina be merged with the territorial prelatures of Altamura and of Aquaviva into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title ''Dioecesis Altamurensis-Gravinensis-Aquavivensis''. The seat of the diocese was to be in Altamura, where the prelatial church was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedral in Gravina and the prelatial seat in Aquaviva were to have the honorary titles of "co-cathedral"; the Chapters were each to be a ''Capitulum Concathedralis''. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Altamura, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the suppressed diocese and territorial prelatures. To make the territories of the new diocese congruent, the town of San Teramo in Colle was detached from the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto and added to that of Altamura. The new diocese was made a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto.

Prelates and Bishops

Territorial Prelature of Altamura

''Erected: 1248''
''Latin Name: Altamurensis'' *Riccardo of Brindisi *Niccolò Barbara (1250 - 1262) *Giovanni Correnti (1262 - 1264) *Palmiro De Viana (1265 - 1266) *Niccolò Catamarra (1270 - 1274) *Giovanni (1275 - 1278 resigned) *Guglielmo De Corbolio (21 ottobre 1279 - 1280 resigned) *Pietro De Lusarchiis (1280 - 1284) *Roberto De Lusarchiis (30 dicembre 1284 - 1285 resigned) *Giovanni II (1285 dimesso) *Giovanni III (1285 - 1292 resigned) *Dionigi Juppart (26 aprile 1293 - 1295) *Guglielmo De Venza (1295 resigned) *Pietro de Moreriis (1296 – c. 1308?) *Umberto De Montauro (1308 - 1313) *Rostaino di Candole (1313 - 1328) *Humfredo (1328 - 1329) *Pietro De Moreriis (1329 - 1335 resigned) *Giovanni De Moreriis (1336 - 1350) *Dionigi De Merlino (1350 - 1366) *Guglielmo Gallo (1367 - ?) *Pietro D'Anfilia (1394 - 1399) *Antonio Berleth (1400 - 1420) *Antonio Della Rocca (1420 - 1442) *Pietro Di Gargano (1442 - 1464) *Antonio D'Ajello (1464 - 1472) :Antonio del Giudice (De Pirro) (1472 - 1477) ''Royal Administrator'' *Pietro Miguel (1477 -1477 resigned) *Francesco Rossi (1477 - 1527) *Fabio Pignatelli (29 luglio 1528 - circa febbraio 1529 resigned)* *Niccolò Sapio (2 febbraio 1529 - 1548) *Vincenzo Salazar (1550 - 1557 resigned) *Vincenzo Palagano (1557 - 1579) *Maurizio Moles (1579 - 1580 resigned) *Giulio Moles (1580 - 1586 resigned) *Girolamo De Mari (1586 - 1624) :''Sede vacante'' (1624-1627) *Rodrigo D'Anaja e Guevara (1627 - 1635) :''Sede vacante'' (1635-1640) *Alessandro Effrem (1640 - 1644) :Sede vacante (1644-1649) *Giovanni Montero Olivares (1649 - 1656) *Giuseppe Cavalliere (1656 - 1664) *Pietro Magri (1664 - 1688) *Nicola Abrusci (1689 -1698) *Baldassarre De Lerma (1699 - 1717) *Michele Orsi (1718 - 1722) *Damiano Poloù (1724 - 1727) *Antonio De Rinaldis (1727 - 1746) *Marcello Papiniano Cusano (1747 - 1753) *Giuseppe Mastrilli (1753 - 1761 resigned) *Bruno Angrisani (1761 - 1775) *Celestino Guidotti (1775 - 1783) *Gioacchino de Gemmis (1783 - 1818) *Federico Guarini, O.S.B. (1818 - 1828) :Cassiodoro Margarita (1828 - 17 August 1842 resigned) ''Royal administrator'' *Giandomenico Falcone (1 June 1842 – 10 July 1858 – 24 December 1862) :''Sede Vacante'' (24 December 1862 – 28 August 1879) *Luigi Marcello Pellegrini (1879–1894 Died) *Carlo Caputo (1897–1904 Appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Germany) *Tommaso Cirielli (1899–1902 Died)Cirelli was appointed titular Bishop of Proconessos on 22 June 1899. He died on 26 February 1902. Serena, p. 334. *Carlo Giuseppe Cecchini, O.P. (1904–1909 Appointed Archbishop of Taranto) *Adolfo Verrienti (1910–1929 Resigned) *Domenico Dell'Aquila (1932–1942 Died) *Giuseppe Della Cioppa (1943–1947 Appointed

Bishop of Alife The Diocese of Alife-Caiazzo ( la, Dioecesis Aliphana-Caiacensis o Caiatina) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Campania, southern Italy, created in 1986. In that year the historic Diocese of Alife was united with the Diocese of Caia ...

)

Territorial Prelature of Altamura ed Acquaviva delle Fonti

''Name Changed: 17 August 1848''
''Latin Name: Altamurensis et Aquavievensis''
''Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Bari-Canosa'' *Salvatore Rotolo,

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(1948–1962 Retired) *Antonio D'Erchia (1962–1964 Appointed Apostolic Administrator of Conversano) *Salvatore Isgró (1975–1982 Appointed

Archbishop of Sassari The Archdiocese of Sassari ( la, Archidioecesis Turritana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Sardinia, Italy. Its see was initially at Torres. It was elevated to an archdiocese in 1073. Its suffragan sees are the diocese of Alghero- ...

) *Tarcisio Pisani, O.M. (1982–1986 Appointed

Bishop of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti The Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti ( la, Dioecesis Altamurensis-Gravinensis-Aquavievensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Apulia, southern Italy, created in 1986. In that year, the territorial prelature of Altamura e Acquavi ...

)

Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti

''30 September 1986: United with the Diocese of Gravina''
''Latin Name: Altamurensis-Gravinensis-Aquavievensis'' *Tarcisio Pisani, O.M. (30 Sep 1986-1994) *Agostino Superbo (1994–1997 Resigned) *Mario Paciello (1997–2013 Retired) * Giovanni Ricchiuti (2013– )

References

Books

* * * *Giaconella, Francesco (2020), "L’inedita cronaca di Altamura di Michele Santoro," ''Altamura: Rivista storica'' no. 61 (Altamura: Archivio-Biblioteca-Museo Civico, Altamura 2020), pp. 115-138, at p. 123. * * *Lucarelli A. (1904), ''Notizie e documenti riguardanti la storia di Acquaviva delle Fonti'', , Vol. I, Giovinazzo , 1904. * * Serena, Ottavio (1902)
"La chiesa di Altamura, la serie dei suoi prelati e le sue iscrizioni"
in: ''Rassegna pugliese di scienze lettere ed arti'' 19, nos. 11-12 (1902), pp. 322–337. {{authority control

Religious organizations established in the 1240s

Diocese