Minervino Murge ( nap, Menarvèine, label= Central Apulian ) 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 ...

'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

in the administrative

province of Barletta-Andria-Trani The Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani is a province of Italy in the Apulia region. The establishment of the province took effect in June 2009, and Andria was appointed as its seat of government on 21 May 2010. It was created from 10 municipaliti ...

in the region of Apulia in southern

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 ...

, 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 Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa ( nap, label= Canosino, Canaus), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of th ...

and north of

Spinazzola Spinazzola is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. People *Pope Innocent XII was born here in the castle of the Pignatelli family, now destroyed. *Michele Ruggieri (1543–1607), Jesuit mi ...

, 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 ar ...

). * The see is documented first in a papal bulla in 1025 by

Pope John XIX Pope John XIX ( la, Ioannes XIX; died October 1032), born Romanus, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1024 to his death. He belonged to the family of the powerful counts of Tusculum, succeeding his brother, Benedict VII ...

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 with Bisanzio in 1069, but he may well have been bishop of

Lavello Lavello ( Potentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the region of Basilicata of southern Italy; it is located in the middle Ofanto valley. History The area of Lavello was settled in prehistoric times, as attested by fi ...

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 jurisdiction ...

of the Metropolitan of Bari 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 In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Ch ...

of Roman Catholic Diocese of Canne 2* Biviano (first 1271 - till 1276) 2* Antonio di Gaeta,

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of C ...

(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,

(O.P.) (1492.01.23 – 1497.05.15), next Bishop of

Acerra Acerra () is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, about northeast of the capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain. History Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the regio ...

(Italy) (1497.05.15 – 1504.04.15), Bishop of

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ...

(insular

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

) (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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized ...

of the

Conventual Franciscans 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 ...

* Bernardino Fumarelli (1528.08.07 – 1529.08.16), next Bishop of Alife (Italy) (1529.08.16 – 1532.11.04), Bishop of

Sulmona Sulmona ( nap, label= Abruzzese, Sulmóne; la, Sulmo; grc, Σουλμῶν, Soulmôn) is a city and ''comune'' of the province of L'Aquila in Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared ...

(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

(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 In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

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 Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its ...

(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 Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gerva ...

(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 A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

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 (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 (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 The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesias ...

(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, a

primicerius The Latin term ''primicerius'', hellenized as ''primikērios'' ( el, πριμικήριος), was a title applied in the later Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire to the heads of administrative departments, and also used by the Church to denote t ...

, a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

, 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 i ...

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 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 Basi ...

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