The old cathedral of San Corrado stands on the harbour with its two towers and its three domes in a row: it is one of the most recognisable profiles of Apulian Romanesque, photographed by eight centuries of sunsets. Behind it, the herringbone old town — the medieval island — keeps the intact plan of a sea town that still lives from the sea: its fishing fleet is among the most important on the Adriatic.
The first document that names it dates from November 925: it speaks of a civitas on a peninsula called Sant'Andrea. As an independent port Molfetta traded with Venice, Alexandria, Constantinople, Syria, Amalfi and Ragusa, and it repelled repeated assaults from the Emirate of Bari. Inland lies the Pulo, a great karst sinkhole that is also one of the most important Neolithic sites in the south. Holy Week in Molfetta, with the night processions of the confraternities, is among the most deeply felt in the south. The new harbour and its fish-fry stalls close the evening as they should.
Basilica della Madonna dei Martiri and 3 more
Burrata di Andria
Compare hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes on Booking.com for your dates.
Next up: Saint Conrad of Bavaria, the pilgrim who became patron of Molfetta, Tuesday 9 February
Nearest airport: Bari Palese, 15 km away
No events match these filters.
📅 Every year, on 9 February
Molfetta celebrates Saint Conrad of Bavaria on 9 February; his bones, kept in a gold and silver bust by Neapolitan craftsmen in the Assumption cathedral, belonged to a pilgrim bound for the Holy Land who chose to remain in the town, later becoming its patron saint.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Molfetta, but an easy day trip away.
