Where to Stay in Andria, Puglia

What is Andria known for?

Museo del Confetto sets out a single local product in a town whose other institutions are almost entirely religious, which makes it the odd entry on any list of what Andria keeps. Two sanctuaries balance it. The santuario di Santa Maria dei Miracoli and the Santuario della Madonna dell'Altomare both draw people who are not simply passing, and Andria Cathedral holds the centre between them.

What are the main landmarks in Andria?

Andria Cathedral is the anchor. The Diocesan Museum "San Riccardo" holds what the diocese kept, and San Domenico, Sant'Agostino and the chiesa e chiostro di San Francesco divide the older streets between them. Two sanctuaries stand apart from that group.

The santuario di Santa Maria dei Miracoli and the Santuario della Madonna dell'Altomare each carry a dedication of their own, while the chiesa del Carmine and the chiesa di Santa Maria di Porta Santa complete the church list. Museo del Confetto is the exception.

What is the history of Andria?

Andria's territory was settled in the Neolithic, and the Greek city of Netium later arose nearby. Early medieval hamlets grew up near its ruins, and a document of 915 names Andria as a village dependent on Trani. In 1046 Peter the Norman took it from Byzantine rule and made it a fortified city with twelve towers and three gates.

Andria stayed loyal to the Swabians. Frederick II lived here in the 13th century and had Castel del Monte built nearby. His son Conrad IV was born here in 1228.

Conrad's mother, Yolanda of Brienne, lies in the cathedral crypt. In 1438 the lost body of the patron saint, Saint Richard of England, was found again. The Fiera d'Aprile, held each April, still marks it.

Where is Andria?

The comune is unusually wide. Roughly four hundred square kilometres carry Andria's name, and the built-up part where Andria Cathedral and the chiesa del Carmine stand occupies a small share of that ground. The rest lies outside the streets.

Everything the town lists, from Andria Cathedral to the Museo del Confetto, sits inside that territory in Puglia, and the distances between the named buildings are far smaller than the comune itself.

What is the climate of Andria?

Andria has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. Under the Köppen classification it borders on a cool semi-arid and a humid subtropical climate. Stone helps indoors.

The santuario di Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the chiesa e chiostro di San Francesco and Sant'Agostino all hold cooler air than the streets outside them, which is what heavy masonry does in a warm season.

How do you get to Andria?

Andria has no obvious front door. The city lies 10 km from Barletta, and the part that matters is the compact core where Andria Cathedral, the Diocesan Museum "San Riccardo" and San Domenico stand within a few streets of each other. The rest is distance.

Reaching the Santuario della Madonna dell'Altomare or the santuario di Santa Maria dei Miracoli may add a leg to the day, and Museo del Confetto is the one stop that needs no planning at all.