Gravina in Puglia

Due to its peculiar and strategic position, the area that is now Gravina in Puglia has been inhabited since at least the Paleolithic era. A curious find in this area was a skeleton of an Asiatic man, dating back to the 3rd century BC, that testifies to the importance of this town in ancient times.

Over the centuries the village that occupied this area has been known by many different names—Sidis, Sylbion, Sidio, Silvium, Petramagna, and Botromagno—and was colonized by the Greeks before finally falling to the Romans. The current name comes from the town’s geology, as it is built on the slopes on ravine above the River Gravina that flows through the bottom of the canyon.

The oldest part of the town is made of narrow and twisted small streets that wind up and down through the steep terrain, located right on the banks of the huge rift. To get to the other side of the ravine and see the old houses and buildings hanging on the rocks, you have to pass through a 17th-century bridge, the only one crossing the rift near the old town, where the canyon is larger and deeper. This bridge is known as Ponte Acquedotto because it was turned into an aqueduct in the 18th century. After crossing the bridge, an abandoned belltower and some other ancient ruins can be found.