Trani - San Giacomo

Trani may have been founded by Greek settlers, but the known history starts late. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was dominated by Lombards, Byzantines, Saracens and again Byzantines. With the conquest of southern Italy by the Normans and after 50 days of siege by Robert Guiscard´s troops, Trani became part of the Norman Empire in 1073.

Already under the Byzantines, Trani had become an important port for trade with the Orient. The heyday was in the time of the crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries, when crusaders and merchants mainly went to the Holy Land from Bari and Trani. It became an episcopal see in place of Canosa, destroyed by the Saracens. Frederick II built a massive castle. Under his rule, the city reached its highest point of wealth and prosperity.

San Giacomo, in medieval times known as "Basilica of Santa Maria de Russis", was the first cathedral in Trani. It was built in the first half of the 12th century. Following the 1647 earthquake, the portal was put to the northern facade. Under the church is a small crypt, where once the tomb of San Nicola Pellegrino was placed before it was transferred to the "new" cathedral.

The door of San Giacomo is flanked by a pair of very damaged portal elephants, supporting the columns. It took a while to "see" that these creatures are elephants, but they are.