Minervino Murge ( nap, Menarvèine, label= Central Apulian ) is a town and '' comune'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see in the administrative province of Barletta-Andria-Trani in the region of

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

in southern Italy, lying on the western flank of the Murgia Barese mountain chain. It assumed its present name in 1836, formerly known as just Minervino (with namesakes). It is south of Canosa di Puglia and north of Spinazzola, in the

Alta Murgia National Park The Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia is a national park in Apulia, southern Italy, established in 2004. It lies in the Murgia geographical area, with its headquarters in the town of Gravina in Puglia, and has an area of 677.39 square kilometres. ...

. The town's economy is based mainly on agriculture and herding. The karstic geology of the area has conditioned its main crops: grapes, olives, wheat, and almonds.

Ecclesiastical History

* Established circa 900 as Diocese of Minervino (Italian) / Minerbium (Latin), with only two municipal components : Minervino itself and Montemilone (now in the administrative

province of Potenza The Province of Potenza ( it, Provincia di Potenza; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There a ...

). * The see is documented first in a papal bulla in 1025 by Pope John XIX to archbishop Bisanzio of Bari, specifying the jurisdictions under the Metropolitan

Archbishop of Bari The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto ( la, Archidioecesis Barensis-Bituntina) is Metropolitan Latin rite archbishopric in the administrative Bari province, Puglia ( Apulia) region, southeastern Italy (the 'Heel'), created in 1986, when ...

, but the document is disputed * Locals tradition and a list of incumbents in the episcopal palace starts the

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...

with Bisanzio in 1069, but he may well have been bishop of Lavello instead * The bishopric was 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 Metropolitan of

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

no later than 1152, if not from the start, but disputed papal bullas suggest it may have been suffragan of the Archdiocese of Trani before * Suppressed on 1818.06.27, its territory being merged into the Diocese of Andria; however in 1976, the ''comune'' Montemilone was transferred to the Diocese of Venosa.

Residential Ordinaries

;''Suffragan Bishops of Minervino'' :''First centuries unavailable or incomplete'' * Ignatius = Innazio (recorded in 1071) * Mandus ? (in 1102) * Johannes = Giovanni (in 1122) * Maraldo (? - 1171/1177 deposed) * apparently the see was vacant in 1179 as the see wasn't represented at the Third Council of the Lateran * Leopardo (first in 1180 - till 1197) * Riccardo,

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

(O.S.B.) (first in 1215 - after 1219) 2* An anonymous incumbent (in 1234) * Pietro di Cerignola (16 March 1255 - 13 March 1256), next Bishop-elect of Roman Catholic Diocese of Canne 2* Biviano (first 1271 - till 1276) 2* Antonio di Gaeta, Dominican Order (O.P.) (1298 - ?) * Trasmondo (in 1310) * Giacomo (in 1321) * Rainaldo di Provenza (1344 – 1352) * Lorenzo (1353.11.14 – 1365) * Leonardo Arnini (1426.08.23 – death 1433) * Sancio (1433.01.14 – 1434), previously Bishop of

Diocese of Civita The Roman Catholic Diocese of Civita(-Tempio) was a Latin Catholic bishopric in the Gallura region of northern Sardinia (Tyrrhenian Sea, southwestern Italy). It was heir to the ancient diocese of Pausania or Phausania ( it, Fausania) (6th to 8th? c ...

(Italy) (? – 1433.01.14) * Goffredo (1434.09.15 – death 1456) * Giovanni Campanella,

(O.S.B.) (1456.04.13 – death 1478?) * Marino Cieri (1478.10.05 – death 1491?) * Roberto de Noya, Dominican Order (O.P.) (1492.01.23 – 1497.05.15), next Bishop of Acerra (Italy) (1497.05.15 – 1504.04.15), Bishop of Naxos (insular Greece) (1504.04.15 – death 1515) * Marino Falconi (1497.04.17 – death 1525) * Antonio Sassolino,

Conventual Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

(O.F.M. Conv.) (1525.07.21 – 1528), previously

Superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of the Conventual Franciscans * Bernardino Fumarelli (1528.08.07 – 1529.08.16), next Bishop of Alife (Italy) (1529.08.16 – 1532.11.04), Bishop of Sulmona (Italy) (1532.11.04 – 1547.06.05), Bishop of Valva (Italy) (1532.11.04 – death 1547.06.05) * Giovanni Francesco de Marellis (1529.08.16 – death 1536) * Gian Vincenzo Micheli (1545.03.02 – death 1596 as centenarian), participant at the

Tridentine Council The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as ...

(1545-1563), previously Bishop of Lavello (1539.05.30 – 1545.03.02) * Lorenzo Monzonís Galatina, O.F.M. (1596.06.21 – 1605), next Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Valencia (Spain) (1605 – 1610.01.27), Archbishop of

Lanciano Lanciano (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Langiàne ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 36,304 inhabitants as of 2011. The town is known for the first recorded Catholic Eucharistic ...

(Italy) (1610.01.27 – 1617.11.20), Archbishop-Bishop of Diocese of Pozzuoli (Italy) (1617.11.20 – death 1630.02.11) * Giacomo Antonio Caporali (1606.01.09 – 1616), consecrated the rebuilt cathedral * Altobello Carissimi (1617.01.30 – death 1632) * Giovanni Michele Rossi,

Carmelite Order , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Ca ...

(O. Carm.) (1633.01.12 – death 1633.04.11) * Gerolamo Maria Zambeccari, O.P. (1633.04.11 – 1635), previously Bishop of Alife (Italy) (1625.04.07 – 1633.04.11) * Antonio Maria Pranzoni (1635.05.06 – death 1663) * Francesco Maria Vignola (1663.09.24 – death 1700) * Marcantonio Chenevix (1702.11.20 – death 1717.07) * Nicola Pignatelli (1719.02.09 – death 1734.10.28) * Fabio Troyli (1734.12.01 – 1751.02.01), next Bishop of Catanzaro (Italy) (1751.02.01 – death 1762.08.01) * Stefano Gennaro Spani (1751.03.15 – death 1776.04) * Pietro Silvio Di Gennaro (1776.07.15 – 1779.07.12), next Bishop of Venosa (Italy) (1779.07.12 – death 1786) * Pietro Mancini (1792.02.27 – death 1808).

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored in 1968 as Latin Titular bishopric of Minervino Murge (Curiate Italian) / Minervium (Latin) / Minerbinen(sis) (Latin). It has had the following incumbents, of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank : * Ramón Torrella Cascante (1968.10.22 – 1983.04.11) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Archdiocese of Barcelona The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Latin rite Catholic metropolitan archbishopric in northeastern Spain's Catalonia region. The cathedral archiepiscopal see is a Minor basilica: Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de la Santa Creu i ...

(Spain) (1968.10.22 – 1970.11.06); later Roman Curia official : Vice-President of Council of the Laity (1970.11.06 – 1974.03.06), Vice-President of Pontifical Commission of Justice and Peace (1970.11.06 – 1975.12.20), Vice-President of Pontifical Council “Cor unum” (1971.07.22 – 1975.12.20), Vice-President of

Secretariat for Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...

(1975.12.20 – 1983.04.11), Vice-President of

Council of European Bishops’ Conferences The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe ( la, Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae;,CCEE) is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop ...

(1983 – 1993), then Metropolitan Archbishop of Archdiocese of Tarragona (Spain) (1983.04.11 – retired 1997.02.20), died 2004 * Ryszard Karpiński (1985.09.28 – ...), as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Lublin (Poland) (1985.09.28 – 2011.12.31) and on emeritate.

City sights

Former Cathedral of Mary Assumed

* The medieval former cathedral, now Chiesa S. Maria Assunta, was built under Norman rule, but mostly rebuilt from 1519 until the consecration on 30 August 1608 by bishop Giacomo Antonio Caporali (1606.01.09 – 1616). * A document from 1667 specifies it has 43 ecclesiastical officials, including an archdeacon, 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 ...

, a primicerius, a cantor, 10 canons, 26 other priests, a deacon and two

subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

Other sights

* The castle (14th century), later remade as a ''palazzo'' * The Baroque church of the ''Immacolata Concezione'' * A 15th century tower * Not far are the Caves of Altamura.

Twin towns

* Sagliano Micca, Italy, since 2009

Sources and external links

Minervino-Murge.Com

* ttp://www.gcatholic.org/churches/italy/5729.htm GCatholic, with Google satellite photo/map - former cathedral: Bibliography - ecclesiastical history * Ferdinando Ughelli, ''Italia sacra'', vol. VII, second edition, Venice 1721, coll. 745-748 * Michele Garruba, ''Serie critica de' Sacri Pastori Baresi'', Tipografia Fratelli Cannone, Bari 1844, pp. 965–966 * Giuseppe Cappelletti, ''Le Chiese d'Italia dalla loro origine sino ai nostri giorni'', Venice 1870, vol. XXI, pp. 82–85 * Paul Fridolin Kehr, ''Italia Pontificia'', vol. IX, Berlin 1962, p. 344 * Norbert Kamp, ''Kirche und Monarchie im staufischen Königreich Sizilien'', vol. 2, ''Prosopographische Grundlegung: Bistümer und Bischöfedes Königreichs 1194 - 1266; Apulien und Kalabrien'', Münich 1975, pp. 640–642 * Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, pp. 897–898 * Konrad Eubel, ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', vol. 1, p. 343; vol. 2, pp. XXXI, 193; vol. 3, p. 245; vol. 4, p. 243; vol. 5, p. 269; vol. 6, p. 290 * Papal Bulla 'De utiliori', in ''Bullarii Romani continuatio'', Vol. XV, Rome 1853, pp. 56–61 * ''Cronotassi dei vescovi di Minervino'', pp. 45–47 {{authority control Hilltowns in Apulia Castles in Italy