Ruvo di Puglia - Concattedrale di Ruvo di Puglia

Ruvo di Puglia, founded probably by Greek settlers, was a "municipium" in Roman times. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it got destroyed by Visigothic troops in the 5th centuryand later again by the Lombards. It was then Byzantine and later under Saracen and the Norman power.

The Ruvo Cathedral, once the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Ruvo, is now a co-cathedral in the Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi. It is an important example of late Apulian Romanesque architecture, built between the 12th and 13th centuries.

The current exterior is the result of early 20th-century restoration works which removed the Baroque additions. The church has a sloped façade with three portals. The central and larger one is flanked by two columns standing on lions and surmounted by griphons. It has internal reliefs which were once part of an earlier construction. The smaller ones, at the sides, have a simpler shape, with two semi-columns supporting ogival arches; they also belonged to previous buildings.

Above the portal is a double mullioned window with a bas-relief of the "Archangel Michael Defeating the Devil", and above it, a 16th-century rose window. This is in turn surmounted by the "Sedente" ("Sitting One"), an enigmatic figure which has been variously identified as Robert III of Loritello, who funded the construction, while at the top of façade is a statue of the Redeemer.