Minervino Murge

Ecclesiastical History

• Established circa 900 as Diocese of Minervino / Minerbium, with only two municipal components : Minervino itself and Montemilone.
• The see is documented first in a papal bulla in 1025 by Pope John XIX to archbishop Bisanzio of Bari, specifying the jurisdictions under the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bari, but the document is disputed
• Locals tradition and a list of incumbents in the episcopal palace starts the apostolic succession with Bisanzio in 1069, but he may well have been bishop of Lavello instead
• The bishopric was a suffragan of the Metropolitan of Bari no later than 1152, if not from the start, but disputed papal bullas suggest it may have been suffragan of the Archdiocese of Trani before
• Suppressed on 1818.06.27, its territory being merged into the Diocese of Andria; however in 1976, the comune Montemilone was transferred to the Diocese of Venosa.

  Residential Ordinaries

• Ignatius = Innazio
• Mandus ?
• Johannes = Giovanni
• Maraldo
• apparently the see was vacant in 1179 as the see wasn't represented at the Third Council of the Lateran
• Leopardo
• Riccardo, Benedictine Order
• An anonymous incumbent
• Pietro di Cerignola, next Bishop-elect of Roman Catholic Diocese of Canne
• Biviano
• Antonio di Gaeta, Dominican Order
• Trasmondo
• Giacomo
• Rainaldo di Provenza
• Lorenzo
• Leonardo Arnini
• Sancio, previously Bishop of Diocese of Civita
• Goffredo
• Giovanni Campanella, Benedictine Order
• Marino Cieri
• Roberto de Noya, Dominican Order , next Bishop of Acerra , Bishop of Naxos
• Marino Falconi
• Antonio Sassolino, Conventual Friars Minor , previously Superior general of the Conventual Franciscans
• Bernardino Fumarelli, next Bishop of Alife , Bishop of Sulmona , Bishop of Valva
• Giovanni Francesco de Marellis
• Gian Vincenzo Micheli, participant at the Tridentine Council, previously Bishop of Lavello
• Lorenzo Monzonís Galatina, O.F.M., next Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Valencia , Archbishop of Lanciano , Archbishop-Bishop of Diocese of Pozzuoli
• Giacomo Antonio Caporali, consecrated the rebuilt cathedral
• Altobello Carissimi
• Giovanni Michele Rossi, Carmelite Order
• Gerolamo Maria Zambeccari, O.P., previously Bishop of Alife
• Antonio Maria Pranzoni
• Francesco Maria Vignola
• Marcantonio Chenevix
• Nicola Pignatelli
• Fabio Troyli, next Bishop of Catanzaro
• Stefano Gennaro Spani
• Pietro Silvio Di Gennaro, next Bishop of Venosa
• Pietro Mancini.

  Titular see

• Ramón Torrella Cascante as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Barcelona ; later Roman Curia official : Vice-President of Council of the Laity, Vice-President of Pontifical Commission of Justice and Peace, Vice-President of Pontifical Council “Cor unum”, Vice-President of Secretariat for Christian Unity, Vice-President of Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, then Metropolitan Archbishop of Archdiocese of Tarragona , died 2004
• Ryszard Karpiński, as Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Lublin and on emeritate.

  City sights

Former Cathedral of Mary Assumed

• The medieval former cathedral, now Chiesa S. Maria Assunta, was built under Norman rule, but mostly rebuilt from 1519 until the consecration on 30 August 1608 by bishop Giacomo Antonio Caporali.
• A document from 1667 specifies it has 43 ecclesiastical officials, including an archdeacon, an archpriest, a primicerius, a cantor, 10 canons, 26 other priests, a deacon and two subdeacons.

  Other sights

• The castle, later remade as a palazzo
• The Baroque church of the Immacolata Concezione
• A 15th century tower
• Not far are the Caves of Altamura.

  Twin towns

• Sagliano Micca, Italy, since 2009