Conversano is an ancient city in the Italian region of Puglia, located 30 km South-East of Bari and 7 km from the Adriatic coast. Former stables of the counts of Conversano, where they bred horses breed Napoletano. One of these horses, born in 1767, the year and bearing the name of Conversano, became the main stud for lippizans breed.

The territory of the modern city has been inhabited since the iron age, when the tribes apigo and Piketon founded on the hill of the village called him. By the 6th century BC it became a thriving commercial city, which is heavily under the influence of the nearby Greek colony. 268-m BC Norbu was captured by the Romans, and seven centuries later, when the Italian Peninsula was invaded by the Visigoths, the city was abandoned.

New city, appeared on the ruins Nearby, became known in the mid-11th century when the Normans took the title of count of Conversano and turned it into the capital of a large County, located between Lecce and Nardo. Then, during three centuries, the city passed from hand to hand, while in 1455, the year was not the property of Catherine del Balz Orsini, the wife of Giulio Antonio Acquaviva, a genus of which the rules up until the early 19th century.

Today this small town is famous for its medieval castle Castello Conversano, which was built during the reign of the Normans and Hohenstaufen. It is located on a hill above the town, and dates back to the 6th century, although most of the castle was substantially rebuilt in the 11th century. Its notable feature is the only round tower, erected by Giulio Acquaviva.

The Romanesque Cathedral was built in the 11th century, but some of his decorations was added in the 14th and 17th centuries. Its appearance is characterized by a Romanesque facade with a huge window-wall plug and three portals decorated with a sculptural composition. Inside you can see a fresco of the 15th century, written by a master of Pisa school, and an icon of the Madonna della Fonte, patroness of the city.

The Benedictine monastery of Conversano, founded, according to legend, in the 6th century, was once one of the most influential in the whole of Puglia. In the middle of the 13th century, Benedictine monks were evicted, and in their place came the Cistercians. It was the only monastery in Europe, novices who could wear religious symbols, such as the mitre. In the Abbey Church remained part of the walls of the 11th century, and its decorations date back to the mid-17th century. It is noteworthy that the bell tower of the monastery is higher than the bell tower of the Cathedral was a symbol of the superiority of the Abbey over the diocese.

Other attractions in Conversano is called megalithic complex of the 6th century BC, the Baroque Church of St. Kozma and San Damiano, the Church of San Francesco of the 13th century and the Church of Santa Caterina of the 12th century. Also worth a visit nearby is the Castello Marcion and the ruins of Castiglione.