Melfi Cathedral

Rapolla Cathedral was first mentioned in 1037 and we know that this first cathedral was destroyed in 1183 when the inhabitants of Melfi attacked Rapolla. The church was immediately rebuilt and completed by Melchiorre da Montalbano in 1253. The Cathedral has also been destroyed or damaged many times by earthquakes (1456, 1694, 1851, 1930 and 1980).

Venosa Cathedral was built between 1470 and 1502 by order of Duke Pirro del Balzo, who was responsible for the urban transformation of Venosa in the last decades of the 15th century. The upper part consists of two octagonal prisms, which form the base of the 10-metre high pyramidal spire. The lower part consists of three superimposed parallelepipeds, the first of which has a quadrangular base.

The present cathedral of Ascoli Satriano was built in the second half of the 13th century by the Conventual Friars Minor, who dedicated it to Saint Francis, with their adjoining monastery. With a bull dated 24th September 1455, Pope Callistus III raised the Franciscan church to the rank of a new diocesan cathedral, replacing the previous one, which was destroyed by an earthquake. The new cathedral was enlarged and restored during the 17th century and was reconsecrated on June 3, 1709. It was finally completely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1871 which reduced it to ruins.