The archaeological treasures of Canosa

Legend has it that Canosa – an ancient Roman municipality that enjoyed great splendour and prosperity during the imperial era – was founded by the Greek hero Diomedes, upon his return from the Trojan War, after a long period of wandering in exile between the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas. The town’s origins date back to the Neolithic period, around 5,000 years before Christ, with traces of settlements dating back to 1500 BC, when it was inhabited by Illyrian peoples; its conquest by the Saracens in the mid-17th century coincided with a period of decline that lasted throughout the Middle Ages. Very little of Canosa’s past remains visible in the urban landscape, where part of its heritage of tombs, artefacts and early Christian basilicas is scattered. The finest collections of funerary objects (vases, amphorae and trays from the 5th, 4th and 3rd centuries BC) can, however, be viewed at the National Archaeological Museum, temporarily housed in Palazzo Sinesi, in the town centre. Particularly remarkable, owing to their perfect state of preservation, are the series of objects dedicated to the myths of Niobe and Andromeda and those of Artemis and Actaeon, as well as the Hellenistic ornamental pottery with polychrome decoration, characterised by its distinctive pink colour. The underground tombs of Canosa, whose layout is reminiscent of the Etruscan tombs of central Italia, are carved out of limestone or clay: the Tomb of Cerberus, dating from the 2nd century BC, is accessible to visitors from the courtyard of the local scientific secondary school and features a multimedia presentation that recounts in detail the history and significance of the tomb. More significant, also in the town centre, is the Lagrasta hypogeum (named after its discoverer, who unearthed its chambers in 1843), featuring nine burial chambers.