The best MTB trails around Margherita Di Savoia

The old Roman bridge was probably built in the 1st or 2nd century and was an important section of the Via Traiana over the Ofanto river. After renovations, particularly after an earthquake in the 18th century, not much of the original structure can be seen anymore. Today, 5 arches span the river and secure the path for pilgrims on the Via Francigena nel Sud.

On the Via Traiana between Cerignola and Canosa di Puglia is a Roman mausoleum from the 2nd century AD. The Torre Casieri marks the ancient entrance to Canusium and consists of a rectangular burial chamber with a barrel vault and two semicircular niches.

The site of Canne della Battaglia is mainly remembered for the decisive battle of 216 BC, fought between the Romans and Carthaginians during the Second Punic War. The hilly reliefs overlooking the Ofanto valley have been inhabited since the Neolithic period and continuously until the 3rd century BC, most likely in conjunction with the epic clash that disrupted the settlement patterns of the entire area. In Roman times, it is recalled in the sources as the emporium of Canusium, in whose shadow it lived until the latter's abandonment in the second half of the 9th century. From this moment, Canne began its most important historical phase, linked to the stabilization of Byzantine power in Puglia. Thanks to its strategic position, the Cannese village, likely built on a pre-existing Roman structure and known today as the 'Cittadella', was re-occupied from the late antique period and consolidated in the following centuries, around two main centers, the basilicas and the castle, also thanks to the establishment of a diocese, led, in the early 12th century, by Ruggero, the current patron saint of Barletta. The antiquarium annexed to the archaeological park was created in the late 1950s for the valorization and conservation of artifacts from excavations conducted in the area, starting from the Ventennio, a period of frenetic exaltation of Roman grandeur. Today's exhibition favors the narration of events related to the Second Punic War and the great battle that represented a trauma for the surrounding territory and for the indomitable Roman army. However, according to the current state of research, no archaeological documentation referring to the clash of 216 BC has yet been found, nor can the reconstruction of the landscape on these hills, as described by historical sources, particularly Livy and Polybius, be considered plausible. Rather, the site of Canne, in addition to being located in an area of great landscape and natural value, constitutes, to this day, one of the most interesting examples of abandoned medieval settlements in Italy.

the panorama is suggestive, worth a stop

Roman Bridge a few km from Canosa di Puglia. The consolidation interventions are evident, but the original structure is there and visible. Two thousand years ago, armies with thousands of Roman soldiers passed through here. It's history.

216 BC. Museum, ruins of the old city built on the site of the Carthaginian camp. Entrance to the museum is 6 euros. You can lock your bike nearby.

The so-called "Roman bridge" is nothing more than a mid-18th-century reconstruction following the collapse, after yet another flood, of the entire central section, which once consisted of a single large arch. The construction visible today, with four arches, corresponds to the reconstruction completed by Neapolitan naval engineers, coordinated by the architect Vanvitelli, sent here by King Charles III of Bourbon. Information regarding the 18th-century reconstruction is recorded in documents preserved in the "Royal Sheep Customs" section of the State Archives of Foggia. The "new" structure certainly followed the position of the bridge built on the Via Traiana in the early 2nd century, but almost nothing remains from that phase, due to the various modifications and renovations that took place during the Aragonese period and ended with the earthworks by Allied troops during the Second World War.

Remains of a two-story Roman mausoleum, from the 2nd century AD, located on the route of the Via Traiana