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Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto

Basilica · Manfredonia (Siponto) · Puglia

In brief

Festivals and dates

From Roman colony to Romanesque cathedral

Siponto became a Roman colony in 194 BC and grew into one of the region's main ports. It was also the seat of one of the most important dioceses in Puglia, as shown by the remains of the three-aisled early Christian basilica, with its apse and mosaic floors from the 4th century and from a later renovation.

The silting of the port and two violent earthquakes, in 1223 and 1255, led to the town being abandoned: its inhabitants moved to the new settlement founded in the second half of the 13th century by King Manfred, son of Frederick II, after whom Manfredonia is named. What remains of medieval Siponto is the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, built between the 11th and 13th centuries over the remains of older buildings and considered a gem of Apulian Romanesque, with Arab and Armenian influences.

The national Catalogue of Cultural Heritage gives its consecration as 1117; a plaque also records a consecration performed on 23 June 1675 by Cardinal Vincenzo Maria Orsini. In 1708 the crypt was arranged with remains of the old Siponto cathedral. In 2016 the area became an Archaeological Park, inaugurated together with Edoardo Tresoldi's work.

Sources: Parco Archeologico di Siponto - Direzione regionale Musei Puglia (Ministero della Cultura) · Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto a Manfredonia - Catalogo Generale dei Beni Culturali · Basilica di Siponto e Parco Archeologico - Comune di Manfredonia · Dove l'arte ricostruisce il tempo - Ministero della Cultura

The Virgin of Siponto and Bishop Lawrence

Siponto is the religious root of Manfredonia. The Most Holy Virgin of Siponto is the town's patroness, and her icon, the 11th-century Madonna of Siponto, is now kept in a chapel of Manfredonia Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Lawrence Maiorano. It was from Siponto that this bishop's remains were moved to the cathedral in 1327; tradition links him to the apparitions of the Archangel Michael on the Gargano.

The Siponto basilica remains a place of prayer in the care of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo. In May 2025, the month of Mary, the diocese reopened the crypt for worship, with a daily Rosary and a Mass for the reopening, describing it as one of the oldest and most evocative places in the area.

For the faithful of Manfredonia, devotion to the Virgin of Siponto culminates every year in the solemnity at the end of August, preceded by a novena.

Sources: Solennità di Maria Regina di Siponto - Arcidiocesi di Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo · Cattedrale di Manfredonia, Chiesa di San Lorenzo Maiorano - BeWeB (CEI) · Le quattro apparizioni - Basilica Santuario San Michele · Riapre al culto la cripta della Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto - Arcidiocesi di Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo · Omelia dell'Arcivescovo per la Solennità della Vergine di Siponto, 30 agosto 2026 - Arcidiocesi di Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo

The basilica, the crypt and the wire-mesh basilica

The basilica is shaped like a cube, with a small crypt at its centre reached by an outside staircase. Columns and capitals from older Siponto were reused to build it. The portal is its finest feature: arches decorated with foliage and geometric carving, two of which rest on brackets supported by columns standing on lions; on either side, blind arcades frame four carved panels. Inside you can see the mosaic floors of the 4th-century early Christian basilica.

Beside the Romanesque church lie the foundations of the early Christian basilica, with the outline of the apse, column bases and fragments of mosaic, and in the park the remains of the Roman town, including an amphitheatre and stretches of the walls.

On those foundations stands Edoardo Tresoldi's work 'Where art reconstructs time': 4,500 metres of electro-welded wire mesh, 14 metres tall and weighing about seven tonnes, which restores the volume of the ancient basilica's last phase. The project earned the park the Francovich Prize of the Society of Italian Medieval Archaeologists and, in 2018, the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture (special prize for the commissioning body).

Sources: Parco Archeologico di Siponto - Direzione regionale Musei Puglia (Ministero della Cultura) · Basilica di Siponto e Parco Archeologico - Comune di Manfredonia · Basilica di Siponto - Atlante architettura contemporanea (Ministero della Cultura)

The patroness's feast

On 22 August, the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen established by Pius XII in 1955, the novena to the Most Holy Virgin of Siponto begins in Manfredonia. The novena prepares for the patroness's solemnity, celebrated on 30 August with a homily by the archbishop, who each year addresses a message to the town and Church of Manfredonia.

The main celebrations take place in town, where the icon is kept; the Siponto basilica is its place of origin. In May the basilica's crypt may host moments of Marian prayer, such as the daily Rosary offered by the diocese in 2025.

Sources: Omelia dell'Arcivescovo per la Solennità della Vergine di Siponto, 30 agosto 2026 - Arcidiocesi di Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo · Solennità di Maria Regina di Siponto - Arcidiocesi di Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo · Cattedrale di Manfredonia, Chiesa di San Lorenzo Maiorano - BeWeB (CEI) · Riapre al culto la cripta della Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto - Arcidiocesi di Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo

Visiting the Archaeological Park

The basilica and the Siponto Archaeological Park lie about three kilometres from Manfredonia. The park is a state cultural site run by the Ministry of Culture's Regional Museums Directorate for Puglia, which publishes the official information on its website, museipuglia.cultura.gov.it; the Municipality of Manfredonia also presents the site on its institutional portal. The ticket can be combined with one for the National Archaeological Museum of Manfredonia and can also be bought online.

The visit combines three layers: the Romanesque church with its crypt, the archaeological remains of the Roman and early Christian town, and Tresoldi's installation. To attend services in the crypt, check the notices of the archdiocese on diocesimanfredonia.it.

Sources: Basilica di Siponto e Parco Archeologico - Comune di Manfredonia · Parco Archeologico di Siponto - Direzione regionale Musei Puglia (Ministero della Cultura) · Riapre al culto la cripta della Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto - Arcidiocesi di Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo

The place

Sources