A very important Peucetian center, Bitonto stands on the edge of an Apulian gravina, with a historic center with a trapezoidal plan and narrow alleys. In the village, there are many Renaissance suggestions and elegant places of worship Bitonto preserves long sections of walls and numerous Angevin and Norman towers as remains of the military fortifications of the past. Recognized as the City of Olives, it is known nationally for the excellent oil prepared with its renowned variety of olives, the Ogliarola di Bitonto or Cima di Bitonto, still today strictly hand-picked in the red earth countryside of the Bari hinterland. Extensive olive groves surround Bitonto and oil production, renowned already in the thirteenth century and perfected during the twentieth century, which still constitutes the most important economic resource of the city today.
The date of its foundation is ignored for this important building, which takes up the architectural structure of S. Nicola in Bari in a reduced size. The western facade is divided into three parts and is enriched by numerous openings, the appearance of which is due to the embellishment activities that characterized the first half of the thirteenth century. The central portal is one of the few examples of Apulian portals with a historiated decoration.
The Gallery houses a magnificent collection of works of art, dated between the 16th and 20th centuries and kept in the rooms of Palazzo Sylos Calò, an extraordinary scenic backdrop in Piazza Cavour and the highest expression of Renaissance civil architecture in the village. Enrolled in the List of Monumental Buildings of Italy since 1902, the Palace is located along the ancient via "delli Mercanti" which once connected the main urban gate, Porta Baresana, to the Cathedral. A two-flight staircase leads to the main floor, where a large terrace connects the various upper rooms.
The museum, founded in the early 1960s, takes its name from the building that houses it, the seventeenth-century Palazzo Rogadeo, home to the municipal library: numerous archaeological finds found in the Bitonto area are exhibited there. Arranged in the two rooms of the structure, called "Traetta" and "Rogadeo", there is also the Library, consisting of over 400 scrolls, manuscripts, incunabula, a red book from the thirteenth century and an ancient illuminated Evangelary.
The Forno Antico in Piazza Minerva dates back to 1200, and is where you can taste the traditional Apulian cuisine with focaccia with tomatoes and olives, but also taralli and picciuatelli, all rigorously cooked on an olive wood fire.
