Su alcune chiese medievali inglobate in strutture fortificate. I casi di Trani, Bari e Monopoli in Puglia

Castles often have devotional chapels or small churches for the garrison. These places of worship were an integral part of the fortresses and fulfilled the important function of spiritually supporting those who resided there. They could be small, adapted spaces or environments designed to fulfil sacred functions already in the design phase. There are many examples of this, some of great value with frescoed walls, quality architectural details and rich furnishings. This contribution aims to address a particular aspect of the relationship between places of worship and fortified architecture. That is, the cases in which preexisting churches and monasteries, due to subsequent defensive needs, are incorporated into the walls and bastions of castles and forts, especially in the Renaissance period. Some cases present in Terra di Bari have been examined in depth which, although presenting different situations and states of conservation, are united by the loss of the original function to become an integral part of the fortified structures in which they are incorporated. The remains of four medieval churches with a contracted cross plan with dome were examined: two, dedicated to St. Anthony the Abbot, stood at the mouth of the ports of Trani and Bari and were transformed into forts in the 16th century; a third, from the 11th century, also in Bari, was incorporated into the bastion of Santa Scolastica on the extreme tip of the peninsula on which the ancient city stands; the fourth was part of the monastic complex of San Nicola de Pinna and was absorbed by the castle of Monopoli. The research involves the spatial re-proposition of the volume of the churches, their relationship with the fortified environments that incorporate them and the changes to the urban layout following these transformations.