National Archaeological Museum of Gioia del Colle

The National Archaeological Museum , with its laboratories, offices, services and exhibition rooms, is housed in the Norman-Swabian Castle of Gioia. It was established in 1977 to house the finds from the excavations of the ancient town of Monte Sannace . The birth of the museum was determined by the important archaeological findings made during the excavations of 1929 in Monte Sannace and, above all, by the large quantity of finds recovered in the excavation campaigns carried out between 1957 and 1961. Subsequently, the collection of the museum siè further enriched with the finds deriving from research carried out in the archaeological area in more recent years. The excavations still continue, extended to wider sectors of the territory.

The Castle of Gioia del Colle is part of those fortified works of the Frederick era that keep the architectural structure more intact, defined by the large quadrangular courtyard, the imposing corner towers and the mighty curtains with ashlar facing. Located in a dominant position, at 360 meters above sea level, it was mainly a military structure, built for the defense of the territory. The building is the result of an architectural and artistic syncretism carried out in three periods ( pre -Norman, Norman and Swabian ) but also of more recent contributions, consisting of the restoration interventions of the twentieth century .

The archaeological exhibition is dedicated to artifacts belonging to the ancient Peucezi (VII - II century BC). The collection essentially consists of vases recovered from grave goods and domestic vases discovered in the ancient town of Monte Sannace, located 5 km from Gioia del Colle, currently state-owned Archaeological Park open to the public. These are large geometric decorated jugs, jugs, kantharoi decorated with swastika motifs and pendulous semicircles, but also Attic , Ionic and Corinthian vases, which attest to the presence of exchanges and trade between the indigenous Peucezia population and the Greek people. During the summer , the Castle is also home to shows and artistic events that allow a better insertion of the structure into the social and cultural fabric of the city.