A battle with an unexpected outcome
In 216 B.C., a battle raged between the Roman and Carthaginian armies whose outcome was to be unprecedented: the defeat of the Roman legions by Hannibal. Canne della Battaglia welcomes visitors to the epicentre of this historical event.
Notices(4)
- EVENING OPENING JULY 11, 2025
On July 11, 2025, the site will be open until 11:00 p.m. (last admission at 10:00 p.m.).
- Free entrance
There first Sunday of each month access to all institutes and places of culture is free, including, in the absence of a separate exhibition itinerary e of a separate ticket, the spaces in which exhibitions or temporary exhibitions are held. Admission will also be free on the following days: 25th April; 4th November.
- Respect of the chosen entry time
We remind visitors that it is mandatory to show up at the site’s entrance exactly at the time chosen during the purchase.
- Medium and large sized animals
Medium and large sized animals are allowed only in the external archaeological area IF equipped with a leash and muzzle, always remaining next to their owners.
Services(5)
- Audioguide
- Disabled access
- Guided Tours
- Info Point
- Pets allowed with carrier
Reductions(6)
For REDUCED and FREE tickets, proof of the right to use these tickets will have to be shown. Where the visitor fails to produce such documentation at the ticket office, a FULL-PRICE ticket will have to be purchased.
Free
13types- •European Union tourist guides in the exercise of their professional activity, presenting a valid licence issued by the competent authority
- •Tour interpreters from the European Union working alongside the guide, upon presentation of a valid licence issued by the competent authority
- •To the staff of the Ministry of Culture
- •Members of I.C.O.M. (International Council of Museums)
- •Visitors under the age of eighteen. Under-twelves must be accompanied by an adult
- •To public and private school groups of the European Union alongside their teachers, subjected to booking and in the quota established by the head of the institution or cultural site.
- •Lecturers and students on degree courses, specialist degree courses or post-graduate specialisation and PhD courses in the following faculties: architecture, conservation of cultural heritage, education sciences or literature and philosophy with an archaeological or historical-artistic focus. The same benefits are due to teachers and students of corresponding universities or courses, present in the European Union States.
- •Teachers and students enrolled in Fine Arts Academies or corresponding institutes of the European Union, by showing their enrolment certificate for the current academic year
- •Teaching staff -permanent school or with a fixed-term contract- of the Italian school, upon presentation of a suitable certificate issued by the educational institutions. The certificate is annual and valid for the academic year in progress.
- •Disabled persons and one family member or companion who can show their membership to health and care services.
- •To the operators of voluntary associations who carry out, on the basis of existing agreements with the Ministry, activities to promote knowledge of cultural heritage.
- •Italian and foreign scholars for study or research purposes certified by Italian or foreign school or university institutions, academies, research and culture institutes as well as by the Ministry, for particular and justified needs, the Directors can allow individual subjects who request it free admission for specific periods.
- •Free entry to state cultural sites is permitted to teachers and students of AFAM (Higher Education in Art and Music) schools, upon presentation of the appropriate forms.
Reduced
2types- •EU citizens aged between 18 and 25 (the age limit is considered exceeded from the day following the completion of the 25th year of age).
- •To citizens of countries outside the European Union, on condition of reciprocity.
Cumulative Full Price
1Type- •Allows FULL PRICE entrance to Canne della Battaglia Antiquarium and Archaeological Park and Canosa di Puglia National Archaeological Museum.
Cumulative Reduced
1Type- •Allows REDUCED entrance to Canne della Battaglia Antiquarium and Archaeological Park and to Canosa di Puglia National Archaeological Museum.
Puglia Musei Card
1Type- •The subscription is NAME-SPECIFIC. It allows unlimited admissions for 6 months in all the museums of the Regional Directorate of Museums of Puglia. The Taranto National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) is NOT included.
Museo Card
1Type- •The subscription is NAME-SPECIFIC. It allows unlimited entry for 6 months in ONE of the museums of the Regional Directorate of Museums of Puglia. Taranto National Archaeological Museum (MArTA) is NOT included.
Description
A strategic settlement
To date, no archaeological evidence has been found relating to the Battle of Cannae, but priceless finds tell the story of the site through the centuries. The town of Cannae rose on the hills overlooking the Ofanto River valley, which allowed the settlement to prosper thanks to river trade and the fertility of the land.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, clusters of huts developed on the terraces during the Middle Bronze Age allowing control of the river, while from the 6th century B.C. the Daunian settlement evolved, characterised by aristocratic buildings and a burial ground. In Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the main hill, the citadel, was occupied continuously, and after the destruction of Canosa in 872 it became an episcopal seat until the 14th Century.
Discovering Antiquity
The antiquarium was built in 1958 to accommodate the finds from excavations conducted in the area, to promote and communicate the historical memory of the site. Today thanks to the crono-historical exhibition setting it is possible to engage in a journey from antiquity until the great battle scene between the Romans and Carthaginians, involving viewers in a continuous projection.
A journey through history
The indoor exhibition path, opened in 2017, leads the visitor through the site’s long history as an inhabited settlement, favoring the media dimension of the site, at the same time a symbol of conflicts between peoples and a place to keep the memory of the past alive. Thanks to bilingual panels focused on individual works, and the implementation of touchscreen and 3D projection technologies, the visitor experience is spectacularised and open to all.
The visit to the Archaeological Park is divided into two itineraries: the first leads to the main hill, site of the Roman citadel mentioned in Latin sources, and the medieval settlement, with the castle and the basilica area. The second itinerary, which cannot be visited at present, leads to the area of the Daunian settlement with its cave tombs and kilns, traversed in the Middle Ages by the extensive burial ground.
Works and spaces of interest
A priceless finding dating back to the fifth millennium BC is the statuette of the Mother Goddess, symbol of fertility and protector of the harvest, found in the area of the citadel. Testimony of the vitality of the settlement in the Middle Ages is a precious ivory handle, attributed to Anglo-Norman craftsmen (mid-12th century), depicting a dragon clamping a man in its jaws on one side and a bearded head on the other. Perhaps a symbol of sin having the upper hand over man or mankind struggling to free itself from evil.
Also of special value are examples of 13th-century glazed ceramics that attract the eye for the vividness of their colours and subjects, and a Canosan askòs (vase for pouring small quantities of oily liquids) with a plastic figure, evidence that Canne was Canosa's emporium along the Ofanto.
Forecast
Tour(1)
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