The church of San Biagio, also known as the chapel of San Biagio, is a Catholic place of worship in Altamura, on the city's main street, corso Federico II di Svevia. It was built in 1628 on the remains of an ancient hypogeum.
What to see
Its main feature is a fresco about five metres high showing Saint Christopher ferrying the Child Jesus, painted by the local artist Niccolò Maramonte. Above the entrance portal a statue of Saint Blaise can be seen high up, while on the right stands a bell tower; on the opposite side a blind rose window looks directly onto corso Federico II. An inscription on the façade records that the church was restored in 1742.
The plan is square, with a star vault. From the start the church housed the confraternity of the Shoemakers of San Crispino, and it was originally of Greek rite, like the nearby church of San Nicola dei Greci.
Visiting
The church stands along corso Federico II di Svevia, in the historic centre of Altamura, next to the church of San Nicola dei Greci. The sources consulted give no opening hours or visiting arrangements: check them.
Our editors' tip
Before the church, a seggio stood on the same site, where the city's nobles discussed civic matters; it was in precarious structural condition, so that in the two years 1570-1571 the meetings were held elsewhere. On the steps of this church, according to the sources, the nineteenth-century composer Saverio Mercadante «whistled» as a child.
