The History
The ancient origins The name derives from Barduli, formed from the prelatina base bard-, that is mud. Bardulos was the name of the town in Roman times, probably a harbour village of the Canosa territory, shown for the first time on the Peutingeriana table. The archaeological evidence, however, indicate that this area was already inhabited in the previous age, certainly between the fourth and third centuries BC, and had the function of port for inland centres, including Canusium (Canosa). Around the tenth century it shaped around the basilica, the first urban nucleous that became an important fortified commercial centre, in which the inhabitants of Canne, destroyed in 1083 by Robert Guiscard, took refuge. The arrival of Frederick II and the departure for the Holy Land After being crowned in 1215 as King of the Romans and Germany in Mainz and in 1220 consecrated Emperor by Pope Honorius III, in 1228 Frederick II announced from Barletta the V and one year later stayed in the city for two months. Before leaving for the Crusade, he gathered there his parliament of the barons. 
Retreat of the bishop In 1310 it was declared a state city. It played a strategic role for the control of the territories in the north of Bari and was a vital religious centre, where the bishop of Nazareth, fleeing Muslim persecutions, established his episcopal seat in 1330. The maximum splendour of the city occurred between the fourteenth and fifteenth century under the Angevin and Aragonese rule thanks to the trade with the East and the establishment of a powerful merchant fleet. On February 4th, 1459 Ferdinand I of Aragon was crowned there. In the first half of ‘500, during the wars between France and Spain, the famous Challenge took place. Earthquakes and plagues not slaughter the strenuous city In the following centuries it suffered earthquakes and plagues. It regained life in the second half of the eighteenth century. In the two world wars the value of the city was recognized with 11 gold medals and 215 silver medals. Its major development began in the fifties of the last century.
