Industrial and commercial center on a promontory by the sea, Giovinazzo is rich in art and history dating back to the Bronze Age. The first nucleus of the current city was founded by the Peuceti with the name of Netium. Destroyed by Hannibal during the Punic Wars it was later called Iuvenis Netium, hence the current name Giovinazzo.
Arriving in the center of Giovinazzo, you reach Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, which overlooks the Palazzo del marquis di Rende, in neoclassical style with a Doric-style colonnade. On the same square there is also the church of S. Domenico. This with annexed Dominican convent is a neoclassical structure inside which eighteenth-century paintings by local painters are preserved, there is also a work by Lorenzo Lotto.
A few steps from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, there is the arch of Traino, one of the gates of the old city. After passing the door, once you enter the ancient village, you will find the sixteenth-century church of the Madonna of Constantinople and from here, taking via Cattedrale, you will reach the Cathedral. Built in the 12th century, it retains very little of the original Romanesque style. It was heavily remodeled during the 18th century. The interior has also undergone significant changes over the centuries, it has three naves. The canvases and tables preserved inside are very interesting.
Behind the Cathedral is Piazza Duomo, which overlooks the Doge's Palace, a majestic building from the second half of the 17th century built on the remains of the city walls. The side overlooking the sea is imposing with large French windows and the two bulwarks that flank it; on the southern side, instead, there is the entrance to a large courtyard.
Perfectly integrated with the rest of the city is the small port which overlooks the entire historic center.
The coast has free beaches and equipped beaches, alternating stretches of rocky coast with sandy and pebbly beaches.
Until the 1960s, this place was known by the name of "Specchia Scalfanario" due to the presence of a large pile of stones of approximately 35 m in diameter and over 4 m in height.
In 1961, during the partial demolition of the mirror to obtain crushed stone, it was noticed that the pile of stones covered a Bronze Age dolmen, a large collective "gallery" type tomb built about 4000 years ago according to architectural models widespread in Europe. The tomb, with its evident monumentality, represented a point of reference for the communities living in the territory, to whose burial perhaps individuals of higher status could access in the context of the Bronze Age societies. Placed on a slight height from which it was also possible to see the coast and the sea in the background to the north, it had to be clearly visible from different points.
The sepulchral monument in the 60s was restored and this prevented the degradation of the structure, which remained exposed for centuries in the open.
