Acquaviva delle Fonti Cathedral

Acquaviva delle Fonti Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Acquaviva delle Fonti; Concattedrale di Sant'Eustachio) is the main church of Acquaviva delle Fonti, dedicated to Saint Eustace. It is now a co-cathedral of the Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti. Previously it was the palatine church of Acquaviva delle Fonti, which became part of the territorial prelature of Altamura e Acquaviva delle Fonti formed by Pius IX in 1848, when he added Acquaviva to the existing territorial prelature of Altamura.

Built in Romanesque style in the 12th century (1158) on the ruins of a small temple with Messapian origins by the will of the Norman feudal lord Roberto Gurguglione, it was rebuilt in a Renaissance style in the 16th century. The church was originally dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and only later was renamed for the martyr Saint Eustace. The primitive church, now run down and insufficient for the needs of the increased population, was rebuilt from 1529, when Giovanni Antonio Donato Acquaviva was the feudal lord of Acquaviva. Finished and opened for worship in 1594 during the government of Alberto Acquaviva, the church was consecrated in 1623 in honor of Saint Eustace by the archbishop of Bari in Canosa, Ascanio Gesualdo. Since the beginning it was called palatine, that is, belonging to the king (from the Latin palatium meaning "royal palace"), probably to preserve it from the aims of the archbishop of Bari. Palatine churches for their jurisdiction did not depend on the ordinary ecclesiastical authority, but rather that of the king, who usually appointed and paid clerics chosen by him. There are currently four such churches on Apulian soil: the cathedral in question in Acquaviva, the cathedral of the Assumption of Saint Mary in Altamura, the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Bari and the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel in Monte Sant'Angelo. On 13 January 1859, after a stop in Acquaviva and on his way to Bari for the marriage of the Crown Prince Francesco with Maria Sophie of Bavaria, the penultimate king of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand II, attended the plain mass in the crypt of the cathedral.

The main façade has a cusp, tripartite by pilasters and divided into two orders (the first is Corinthian, the second Doric), all in Renaissance style, while the rest of the façades have an architectural style reminiscent of Apulian Romanesque. A Renaissance rose window opens in the center of the frontal prospect, tending towards Mannerism, formed by sixteen columns arranged in the shape of rays and connected by small arches. Under these are alternating shell valves and winged heads of cherubs. From the center of the rose window protrudes a phytomorphic lithic figure. The main portal has a finely decorated prothyrum. The columns supporting the pediment rest on two stylophoric lions. The side portals are surmounted by two niches that are empty today. Each of them has installed at its apex a bas-relief depicting an ancient version of the coat of arms of Acquaviva delle Fonti. The archivolt of this portal has a bas-relief depicting Saint Eustace's conversion. The façade ends on the top with a broad triangular fifth, in the center of which is a plaque commemorating the name of the feudal lord of Alberto Acquaviva. On the three vertices are stone sculptures depicting Saint Peter and Saint Paul on the sides and Virgin Mary sitting with Child on her knees in the center.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).