Barletta

Italy

Looking sternly over busy Corso V. Emanuele just off Corso Garibaldi, Barletta's Colosso is one of the largest ancient bronzes in existence. Historians believe that this 17-foot-high statue represents the AD 5th-century Eastern Roman emperor Marcian; locals sheepishly stuck a cross in his right hand to Christianize the thing. The Colosso stands against the blind arcading of the 13th century Chiesa di San Sepolcro, with an upper gallery inside that preserves some 14th century frescoes and offers a good view down the Gothic nave.

Down near the harbor, at the center of the old city, the Duomo has a split personality interior. The first four bays were done in fine, 12th-century Romanesque style with antique columns and rounded arches; in the 14th century the rest of the church was completed with pointy, Gothic arches and ribbed cross vaults. It's open 9am to noon and 5 to 8pm.

The Swabian Castello (tel. +39-0883-578-613) built in the 13th century and host to the Third Crusade assemblies, now houses a small archaeological collection—including a worn bust of Frederick II, the only effigy of the enlightened medieval ruler to survive—Siclian marionettes, and a small painting gallery devoted to local son Giuseppe de Nittis (1846-84), one of Italy's foremost Impressionist-style painters. It's open Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 1pm and 3 to 5pm (4 to 7pm May to October).

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