Bovino - Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

Bovino, named Vibinum by the Romans, has a long history. After the end of the Roman empire, it was conquered by the Lombards but got destroyed in 663 during the war with the Byzantines, who requonquered and rebuilt it from 876 on. During the Norman conquest of southern Italy in the 11th centiry Bovino was one of the last strongholds of the Byzantines.

Upto 1986 Bovino was the see of a Bishop, so it is claimed, that already in the 7th century a cathedral may have existed here. This ancient cathedral was restored or rebuilt in he 10th century and again 1188 and 1231.

The cathedral was destroyed by an earthquake in 1930 and was rebuilt with the exception of the Baroque additions.


The façade dates back to the reconstruction carried out between the 12th and 13th centuries. I had learned from my literature about an inscription naming the master Zanus Gallicus and the year 1231. The rose-window over the central door was probably more complex at that time, but over the centuries, the inner parts got lost.