The emperor's bronze statue and the Cantina della Sfida
In the centre of Barletta, beside the basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, stands the Colossus of Barletta, called "Eraclio" by the locals: a bronze statue about 5 metres high of a Late Roman emperor, wearing armour and a diadem and holding a cross in his raised right hand, one of the largest bronze statues to survive from antiquity. Its identity is uncertain: it probably represents an emperor of the fifth century, such as Theodosius II or Marcian. According to tradition it was taken from Constantinople by the Venetians in 1204 and abandoned on the beach of Barletta after a shipwreck; the arms and legs were melted down to make church bells and later remade.
Barletta is also famous for the Disfida di Barletta, the "Challenge of Barletta": in 1503, during the war between France and Spain for the Kingdom of Naples, a French knight insulted the Italians, and thirteen Italian knights led by Ettore Fieramosca challenged thirteen French knights to a duel, winning a victory that became a symbol of Italian pride. The Cantina della Sfida, the tavern where the insult was uttered, can be visited. The town also has an imposing Swabian castle with bastions, which houses the civic museum and a bust believed to be of Frederick II, and a Romanesque-Gothic cathedral.
Tip: every year in September, the Disfida is re-enacted with a historical parade in costume; Barletta has a long sandy beach.
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