1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Ruvo

by Thomas Ashby

RUVO, a town and episcopal see of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Bari, 21 m. W. of the city of that name by steam tramway, 853 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 25,245. The cathedral, a basilica with a very lofty nave (so high, indeed, that the gable of the façade is only slightly above the steep sloping roofs of the aisles, and the clerestory is very small), and with two aisles, has three apses, a square campanile and a rich facade with three portals. It belongs probably to the 13th century. The interior has a fine triforium; it contains some interesting frescoes of the 15th century, and is unique in Apulia in having a gallery supported by corbels round the nave (see A. Avena, Monumenti dell' Italia Meridianale, Rome, 1902, 117). S. Giovanni Rotondo is an ancient circular baptistery with two large fonts. In the Palazzo Jatta is a famous and beautiful collection of vases and coins found in the Apulian tombs around the city; part of these, however, are now to be found in the museum at Naples. The Palazzo Spinola has an interesting Renaissance court. Ruvo occupies the site of the ancient Rubi, on the Via Trajana (see Appia, Via). Coins were issued by the city before it became Roman.  (T. As.)