There are many places worth visiting, traveling is certainly the best way to learn a lot from the past and savor the masterpieces that still resist the inevitable passage of time.
The Gravina Bridge or Aquoduct Bridge is an imposing stone structure about 50 meters high and constitutes an easy access from one side of the city to the other, otherwise it is necessary to make a much longer tour. The bridge was built around the middle of the seventeenth century and it was necessary to intervene with at least two important maintenance works on the large columns due to seismic activities over time.
The city is built on a seismically active territory, which is why structural changes have been made such as the addition of steel tie rods and the implementation of visitor safety systems such as protective rustic paving. The bridge is located over the Gravina stream, from which the city was also named, and from whose waters today Orsini mineral water is produced, distributed throughout the territory.
My son decided to run back and forth over the stone bridge, stopping every 10 meters or so near the rainwater drains where you can actually see the whole valley. After crossing the Acquedotto bridge, after a few steep climbs and uneven ground, you reach a large plain surmounted by a small Christian church which, with its cross, seems to protect the entire city of Gravina behind it.
On the top of the hill next to the Aqueduct Bridge, there is an important archaeological site which has brought to light numerous tombs dating back to the 5th century BC. Each tomb is carved into the rock and below there is a hole in which objects such as vases, necklaces, food were inserted... it was thought that life continued after death and the deceased carried with him everything he could need. to continue his life in the afterlife. A thought that anticipates a little the Christian current which in the following centuries will prevail over the whole territory.
Along the side of the hill, carved into the rocks, there are the Domus, the ancient residences of the inhabitants of the area. There is also the rock church of the Madonna della Stella, which can be visited for a fee, but unfortunately it was already closed at the time of our arrival. The Domus were evolved lodgings that allowed greater shelter from the climate and wild animals, moreover inside the domus numerous drawings were discovered on the walls representing animals, religious symbols and much more.
Gravina di Puglia also offers a very interesting underground path in the streets dug by the ancients, a refuge for the inhabitants during the sieges and today it has become a magical path to discover. Unfortunately, even here it is necessary to book well in advance and due to the covid the number of visitors was decidedly limited, making it impossible to enter the labyrinth under the city at the time of our visit.
“Cities have always been like people, they show their different personalities to the traveler. Depending on the city or the traveler, a mutual love, or an antipathy, a friendship or enmity can be triggered. Only through travel can we know where there is something that belongs to us or not, where we are loved and where we are rejected"
Roman Payne