BITONTO AND THE CASA GROTTOLA
Casa Grottola,
Via Maggiore, Bitonto, Puglia, Italia
https://it.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bitonto#/media/File:Butuntum.jpg
BITONTO
Bitonto is a small city of about 50,000 citizens in the Apulia region, or the “heel” of the Italian “boot”, located on the Italian Adriatic coast . See map of Mediterranean: https://earth.app.goo.gl/84aeb8
The Apennine mountains form a central spine coursing down the Italian peninsula. In the south, the mountains devolve into the Murge plateau, a limestone massif which slopes gently to the Adriatic Sea. It is on this gently sloping limestone terrane that the commune of Bitonto was settled close to the Adriatic sea shore. Today the region is a gently sloping coastal plain with rich lime soils, surrounded by olive groves. Olives, wheat, corn, grapes, figs and other produce were in ancient times a major source of income for “i Bitontini”. And they continue at present as well. Bitonto’s nickname is: “la citta degli Ulivi” (the City of olives) an indication of the importance of olives and olive oil production in this area. See: https://www.britannica.com/place/Puglia.
The Ofanto River drains the Murge Plateau and courses toward the Adriatic along the southern border of the City, flowing past the town in a meandering pattern. The looping course of the river may have been an important consideration to the ancient settlers who sited the city near the river, very likely to make use of a fresh water supply, and as well to take advantage of the river as an element of the city’s defenses so important in its early history.
The meandering Ofanto river protected the southern side of the old city and its “centro antico” or ancient center, from enemy attack. Early settlers built limestone protective walls around the sides of the City away from the river. Sadly, as the town grew into a modern city much of the old wall structure and the old towers were not preserved. Today as well, the flow of Olfato river is very limited or non existent. But its old course remains visible. https://earth.app.goo.gl/91DFWs
The bedrock of this region is 200 million year old marine limestone. This rock is the source of Bitonto’s fertile soils. The limestone is also the source of a widely available building stone used extensively in the city for construction of public buildings, private homes, roadways and the city walls. The walls are almost all of ashlar type construction: https://earth.app.goo.gl/NpxaME See the still existing city walls built of this local limestone. See: https://earth.app.goo.gl/brVYZP.
The “centro antico” or oldest part of the City is built around a center piazza, occupied by the Duomo or Cathedral of Maria Assunta (built 1175AD-1200 AD). The Duomo was constructed over the site of a much earlier 8th Century BC Christian church.
A radius drawn from the piazza of the Basilica to the ancient city walls is only about 250 meters (1/4km) or 800-900 feet) . Thus, the old city, protected on its southern border from invaders by the river, and elsewhere by tall limestone ashlar block-walls, covers an area of only about 0.2 sq km, very typical for a small Roman, or a Medieval walled city. (Ashlar construction: stones cut into uniform blocks to fit together without mortar).
During the Roman Republic of the 6th to 3rd centuries BC, Bitonto was a formal “municipium” or incorporated community important for its agricultural produce and known as “Butuntum”. As a municipium of Rome the city’s inhabitants were all considered Roman citizens.
In 146 BC Rome defeated and incorporated the City States of Greece into the Republic. The Republic expanded to the east and thereafter..the region of Apulia and its roadways became important routes for transport and travel to the eastern parts of the Republic and later the Roman Empire.
The most direct way east from Rome was through Apulia to the port of Brundisium—the city on the tip of the Italian“ boot heel”. Early in Roman history, Brundisium was a critical port city connecting Italy with the East. As the Republic grew in weLth and power more direct roads connections were needed.
To improve travel, military connections and trade the Via Appia or “Appian Way” was built in 312 BC and completed through to Brundisium, the trade and transport gateway to Rome’s far flung possessions, and distant parts of the eastern Empire such as Greece and the Middle East.
Trade with the east must have had a positive economic impact on all of south eastern Italy during this period. Though not on the direct route to Brundisium, (the Appian Way passed far to the west of Bitonto) but the entire Apuglia region must have served travelers moving though this region to reach the East. Coins dating from 6th to 3rd century BC are often found in excavations in Bitonto.
However, by the First Century AD when the Empire was at its greatest extent to the East, and so much traffic and trade was carried by the existing Via Appia, that a more direct route from Rome to Brundisium was needed. Emperor Trajan commissioned the construction of the Via Trajan (or Via“Traiana”) to meet the military and economic needs of the Empire. The new road, completed in 109AD, branched away from the old Via Appia at Benevento, from there, it turned east, bypassing the mountainous passes of the Via Appia, to course along the gently sloping Murge Plateau and coastal plain of Puglia where its route passed directly through Bitonto (Butuntum ) on its way toward Brundisium—only 70 miles further south. See shorter route of Via Traiana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Traiana#/media/File:Via_Appia_map.jpg
Travelers heading east would follow the Via Appia to Benevento then turn east on the Via Traiana, After a trip of about 225 miles and taking at least two weeks, travelers from Rome coursing along the Via Traiana from would arrive at Butuntum,. Roman soldiers are claimed to have marched a rate of 4 miles per hour—for over five hours per day—completing 20 miles of travel per day. Others on horseback, or walking, may have taken longer. Thus arrival at Butuntum from Rome was a long and arduous journey. The port of Brundisium would be another 70 miles further or at least two to three days more.
Travelers reaching Butuntum from Rome or other points north would enter at the west gate or “porta” near the present day intersection of the old Via Traiana and modern day Via Solferino. From the Via Traiana, a traveller turning right onto Via Maggiore would pass the site of the Casa Grottola only a few hundred feet further south on the Piazza da Margherita Durazzo. The Piazza Margherita Durazzo was established sometime in the 14th or 15th century in honor of Queen of Napoli Margherita di Durazzo (1348-1412). Thus the site of the Casa Grottola was in a well traveled, significant part of the city, even from ancient times. The Piazza Durazzo is in the southwest corner of the ancient city. See image of Ancient Roman Via Traiana : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Remains_of_the_Roman_Road_at_Egnazia.jpg
In the late Roman Empire Butuntum no doubt served as a critical way-point along the Via Traiana for transit to the port of Brundisium or modern Brindisi and as a critical transit stop for food, water, animal feed, stable services and lodging for travelers.
It must have also served the Empire as a valuable source of agricultural products, such as grains, wine, figs and olives. Transport of grains, oil, food, bulk products and other goods must have been a major part of the local economy. Military units on the march to parts of the eastern Empire no doubt stopped there, as did merchants and freight carriers going east, seeking rest, food, and water for themselves and their beasts of burden. See old map of Bitonto; https://www.dabitonto.com/share/uploads_news/3d169-fb_img_1547368810866.jp
In the west, Rome fell to barbarians by 476 AD, and the first Saracen invaders enter Europe by 700 AD. By 711 Spain is conquered and called Andauls by the Moslem invaders. By late 10th century AD, Norman invaders came as well.
NORMANS
The Normans probably first arrived in Italy in the 10th century as pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, or returning to Europe from the east. Some may have arrived in Italy while on a pilgrimage to the shrine at Monte Gargano in Puglia (where a famous shrine dedicated in 490 AD to the apparition of Archangel Michael was located). Some of these pilgrims remained. Others were asked to remain as mercenary troops to protect against the persistent raids and invasion of Moslems.
The actual Norman conquest of Puglia (and much of southern Italy) lasted from about 999AD to 1139 AD. Normans were pious and devout Christians as well as fierce warriors. To establish their credibility as overlords, and as well, to underscore their deep devotion to Christianity, which separated them from the Moslem or Saracen unbelievers with whom they competed for control of southern Italy, they built many imposing structures. After the conquest, Normans rapidly built many massive stone fortifications, crenellated towers, castles, churches, abbeys, nunneries and bell towers. They also built stone ‘keeps’ to pacify and control their newly won territory. Church structures were a way to differentiate the Normans from the Moslem threat facing the entire Christian west at this time in history. Free standing bell towers were one of the more common Norman structures, they stood along side of a church or abbey to house bells which were rung to measure out the canonical hours, and call parishioners to prayer.
In Bitonto hey built the imposing Basilica of Maria Assunta over a smaller church, and a short distance away, they built an abbey and a bell tower that would later become part of the lower floor of the Casa Grottola an imposing residence of 17th century to recent times in Bitonto.
The Italo-Normans were the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerers. While continuing to maintain their distinctly Norman piety and customs of war, their language and culture was altered by the Greeks, and local Italians with whom they came in contact. The Italo-Normans were to dominate the character, religious conservatism and devotion, and militaristic independence of southern Italy for more than a millennia.
CASA GROTTOLA
Casa Grottola was designated as a national historic site in the 1930s.
https://earth.app.goo.gl/CXVMwn
Casa Grottola is an historic residence with a complex history and architecture which include elements which date from the 11th century AD. https://earth.app.goo.gl/Xf13HM
The structure itself is located in the “antico centro” part of the city, close to the Ofanto River (at:41°06'20"N16°41'17"E ) and faces upon the Piazza Margherita Durazzo. The three story residence on Via Maggiore, in Bitonto, Apulia, Italy occupies the west corner of the city block. Casa Grottola is close to the central Piazza of the Duomo which is only a short 500 foot (0.1 mile) to the SS Maria Assunta, and in the opposite direction only about 400 feet from the Ofanto River.
Casa Grottola was built on the site of an 11th to 12th century AD, Norman bell tower, or the gate house to an abbey, parts of which remain as the lower floor of the eastern end of the structure. https://earth.app.goo.gl/8v5CvF Bell towers were built to house the church bells and call parishioners to prayer. Norman bell towers are found throuhout Europe. See similarity to St Edmonds tower in the UK below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Norman_Tower_%28Bury_St_Edmunds%29.
The Casa Grottola bell tower is of typical Norman 11th to 12th century construction and perhaps may have during its long history also served as part of a military, defensive, or other religious structure. The fact that it is only a short distance from the Ofanto River and within about 300 feet (@ 100 meters) of the 8-9th Century protective walls of the City, suggests the possibility of a defense or military function, but it is also a similar short distance from the Duomo religious center (and could have well served that function also.)
The Casa Grottola Norman “bell tower” is of massive ashlar type construction and built using large cut and trimmed rectangular limestone blocks. The massive east entrance door is of low height and formed with a circular arch and prominent key stone. The stone entrance and wood door, is framed by massive, one-foot-wide, square limestone or marble blocks. This early stone edifice may have been partly deconstructed over the centuries—as was so many hsitoric structures—simply to make use of the stone for some other structure. . But by 1629 documents indicate that a local prelate, identified as “Father Ildiris” organized the construction of a religious residence on the site. This construction phase used the old bell tower (or abby) as part of the lower floor.
At the completion of the residence in 1629, the structure served as a rectory or nunnery. In is most likely that the Renaissance style “loggia” above it was added to the lower structure after 1629. (A “loggia” is a architectural feature of a residence comprising a gallery or room with one or more sides open to a garden or public space.)
According to the Puglia Historical Society, Casa Grottola was “built by “archpriest” Ilderis in 1629 (i.e. head of priests in a church) . It was then temporarily donated to the Congregation of Collaretti Fathers as a residence”. Later in that century, or by 1679, it was purchased and possibly remodeled or added to then occupied by the prominent Grottola family who lived there for over two hundred and forty years.
It is very likely that the present loggia, with its graceful slim columns, two arches, stone balustrade and space which opens to the Piazza Durazzo on the east, was added above the earlier Norman structure during the 1679 Italian Renaissance Grottola family construction phase. (or “Italian Resorgimento”). . It is noteworthy that a very similar Renaissance loggia is seen in Bitonto on the Palazzo Sylos-Calo at the Piazza Cavour, in the Borgio Vecchio region of the city. Sadly, unlike that of the well preserved Casa Grottola. the roof of the Sylos-Calo loggia has not survived or perhaps it was never completed. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Vista_centro_storico.jpg
The loggia of the Casa Grottola is fully roofed over, and as with most Renaissance loggias actually communicates with the inside of the building by means of a doorway and an elegant stairway, which is known to exist in the interior. https://earth.app.goo.gl/u715bw
In the 14th to 16th centuries loggias were common in private buildings, particularly in urban environments. Incorporating a loggia in a private building helped to cool the interior, aided air circulation, provided a shaded space to rest, yet permitted residents to enjoy the outside air. It also a provided a private space to view events in the Piazza below. And like the classic “American front porch” it provided controlled interaction with neighbors and others as they passed by in the more public space below. Several historic photos exist of the Casa Grottola residents photographed as they occupied the loggia.
The lintel above the loggia of the Casa Grottola has a partly obscured Latin inscription:
“- - ?- SCV NOBISCVM A? Possibly dating from the 1679 construction . The inscription s likely some modification of: “Deus Nobiscum”. “God be with us” ?
Unlike the Palazzo Sylos-Calo , which is a 17th century Renaissance period structure, Casa Grottola was built on the base of an older structure— a massive Norman bell tower. Thus the loggia’s elegant, light, Italian-Renaissance architecture contrasts sharply with the massive, robust Norman architecture of the lower floor…which is obviously of a much earlier construction.
The Norman bell tower with Renaissance loggia and 1629-1679 residence was likely added to in the succeeding late 17th-18th centuries. Today (2023) the three story elegant structure with imposing history and credentials which faces the Piazza Margharita Durazzo is about 54 feet wide x 90 feet long. It encompasses an impressive living area of about 14,580 ft sq or 1,355 sq m of interior space. A interior courtyard, or air shaft, provides light and air circulation to the interior rooms. The building occupies the corner of the city block (@60 ft long) with its long axis oriented @ north-south (@ N 05 W) with the Norman “bell tower” occupying the east end of the structure. This structure which has been designated as an historic monument of Italy in the 1930s in a period of national growth and pride in history should continue to receive government support so that for future generations of Italians can honor, appreciate and understand their national history.
GROTTOLA FAMILY
Casa Grottola was the long-time residence of the formerly prominent Grottola family, who resided on the site from mid 17th century. The last Grottola owner of the Casa was a member of the Puglian judiciary—a local court judge—Giudice Pasquale Grottola,(@ 1840-1895) and his family. Pasquale Grottola was the great grandfather of this author. The author’s grandfather Ottavio, the youngest of the six siblings in the family, recalled events and his life at Casa Grottola in the latter part of the 19th century.
The Grottola family may have had roots in a town by that name, “Grottola” in near-by Basilicata. That town appears on the “Terra di Bari e Basilicata Carta 1647-1664” edition. It is an ancient hill town with a history connecting it with the Greek diaspora in Magna Grecia. After conquest by Rome in 218 BC the village of Grottola (later Grottole) continued on as a Roman city. See a modern image of hilltop city of Grottole in Basilicata: https://earth.app.goo.gl/doH5cN
How, or if, the early Grottola family arrived in Bitonto from Grottola is shrouded in history unknown. But we do know that the Grottola family of Bitonto purchased an elegant residence in the best part of the centro antico of Bitonto in the late Renaissance, about mid 1600s. The rest Is unknown.
What is known is only that of the lives of the last Grottola owners…
Judge Pasquale Grottola served as a court judge in Bitonto and Apulia in the late 19th century. His wife, (the author’s great grandmother) Maria Grottola, nee’ Maria Calamita ( 1848-1940) was a court stenographer, presumably in Judge Grottola’s courtroom. This was an unusual occupation for a woman in the late 19th century. She had a formal education and was also a gifted pianist. She was born in Bitonto and passed away in Brooklyn, NY in 1940. age 92. Judge Grottola married Maria Calamita in @ 1860 at the Cathedral SS Maria Assunta, in Bitonto. See altar: https://earth.app.goo.gl/DS5mMS. See interior of basilica: https://earth.app.goo.gl/Hjg6c1
Maria came to this union from a prominent and wealthy Bitonto family, and with a substantial dowery. (See below for more on Calamita family.) The couple had five children, all born and raised in the Casa Grottola.
Did the couple meet at court—she a court stenographer and he the judge ? I do not know..but it seems likely. Pasquale died in Italy in 1890 as a result of malaria, a very common disease in southern Italy in those days.
CALAMITA FAMILY
The Calamita Family and the Duomo.
Casa Grottola is a short 500-foot walk from the Romanesque cathedral built by Normans in 1175-1200AD. The Duomo, Concattedrale SS Maria Assunto is a local Bitonto landmark which was built in the 11th century during the Norman occupation, as a Romanesque “Norman” style basilica. The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and early on served as the seat of the bishopric of Bitonto. An even earlier 8th century church existed on the site before construction of the present building. In fact, archaeologists have identified an even older paleochristian church (dating from 260-525 BC) site in the subsurface, almost 4 meters below the present-day Concattedrale . See: Santa Maria Assunta, view of Main altar: https://earth.app.goo.gl/DS5mMS
Duomo di Bitonto, or Concattedrale SS Maria Assunta is a fine example of Norman, Romanesque architecture. https://earth.app.goo.gl/dVYN2E
The exterior of the Duomo is the site of a prominent and often photographed 10 meter tall carved Baroque stone obelisk (or “guglia”). This 18th century guglia is located in the Piazza Duomo on the west side of the basilica. See: https://earth.app.goo.gl/ExAoYE
In about 1732-1735 the Calamita family financed the erection of this prominent obelisk, known as: “Guglia dell’Immacolata” to memorialize the salvation of the city from the 1731 earthquake which devastated near-by areas, but as a result of prayers to the Virgin Mary, the City was spared. History of Bitonto reveals that the “wealthy Calamita” family hired the best stonemasons in the city who sculpted the guglia or spire and enriched it with bas relief, full-relief figures and with coats of arms, and erected the Baroque “guglia” or obelisk on the piazza Duomo. Today the Baroque 18th C masterpiece of Bitonto stonecutters and masons stands in sharp contrast to the staid grandeur of the ancient 11th C Romanesque basilica behind it. The Duomo was the site of the marriages and baptisms of the Grottola family for over 240 years.
See http://www.pugliadigitallibrary.it/media/00/00/38/647.pdf
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