A Park between Archaeology and Nature
Monte Sannace Archaeological Park, at 33 hectares the largest in Apulia, contains one of the largest pre-Roman settlements of ancient Peucezia, hypothetically identified as the Thuriae apula mentioned by Livy and Pliny the Elder.
Notices(4)
- SPECIAL EVENING OPENING – AUGUST 9, 16 & 23
Please note that on August 9, 16, and 23, the Monte Sannace Archaeological Park will be open during the following hours: from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM (last entry at 2:00 PM) and from 8:00 PM to midnight (last entry at 11:15 PM). On these occasions, astronomical observations titled "With Eyes to the Sky" will take place in collaboration with the Bari Planetarium.
- 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.
- free admission
The first Sunday of each month access to all institutes and places of culture is free, including, in the absence of a separate exhibition itinerary or 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; 2nd June; 4th November.
- 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(6)
- Audioguide
- Bookshop
- 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 Gioia del Colle Archaeological Museum and Castle and to Monte Sannace Archaeological Park
Cumulative Reduced
1Type- •Allows REDUCED entrace at Gioia del Colle Archaeological National Museum and Castle and Monte Sannace Archaeological Park.
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
Two centuries of excavations
Located on the last foothills of the eastern Murge at 382 metres above sea level, the hill of Monte Sannace is in a fortunate geographical position, halfway between Bari and Taranto, at the centre of an important junction of ancient road systems. The area's archaeological potential was already known in the 18th century, but it was not until 1929 that regular excavation campaigns began, directed first by Michele Gervasio, then in the 1960s by Bianca Maria Scarfì (from 1957 to 1961) and by Ettore Maria De Juliis in the 1970s, and conducted from 1994 to the present by the University of Bari.
The reconstruction of the ancient city through archaeological digs
Digs confirm the city was frequented from the 9th century B.C. to the 11th century A.D., with the heyday being between the 6th and 3rd centuries B.C. Finds have enabled us to document how dwellings developed from huts made of perishable material to houses with a regular plan built of stone, wood and unbaked bricks. Archaeology records the expansion of the town area during the 4th century B.C., in coincidence with the site's increased political and commercial importance. In this period the local population appeared to be stratified and socially differentiated. It populated a growing city space, marked out by a series of walls built between the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C., now encompassing the low-lying areas to the east and west of the acropolis.
The Archaeological itinerary
The Park can be visited following two itineraries: one archaeological and one naturalistic, which depart from the Masseria Montanaro near the main entrance. The archaeological itinerary allows visitors to observe the structures of the ancient city, with the living areas characterised by examples of megaron, pastàs and peristyle houses, with tombs scattered about the urban space (in particular chest tombs, sarcophagi and semi-chamber tombs). The tour begins at the north gate, located in the second circuit of walls, and continues along the city fortifications and through the ancient road systems to the acropolis area, where the aristocratic dwellings, decorated tombs and monumental buildings of a community nature are located.
The Naturalistic itinerary
The second itinerary reveals the site’s naturalistic peculiarities. This route runs between the plain and the hillside, passing through archaeological digs and rural areas, before ending in a scenic zone with a view of the surrounding territory. In an environment characterised by scrubland and small wooded areas populated by trees of downy and fragno (quercus trojana) it is possible to observe plants such as the asphodel and green ophrys that bloom in the springtime.
Forecast
- Mon, 14 Jul21.7°/33.2°
- Tue, 15 Jul22.3°/32.5°
- Wed, 16 Jul22.9°/35.7°
Tour(1)
Blog
Hidden artworks in Disney classics
Who said art and cartoons can't coexist?
The sweet caress of asphodels
The sweet caress of asphodels