Caput Ursi, the Medieval Village

CAPURSO (ba), a few kilometres from Bari's capital city, is a medieval village of the cult of the Madonna del Pozzo.

Traces of the town's existence can already be found before the year 1000, as evidenced by the frescoes found in the Grotta di Santa Barbara in the district of the same name. On the origin of the place name Capurso there are various interpretations, some of them quite fanciful, such as the legend of the bear.

According to this legend, the name of the town would come from the head of a bear (caput ursi) killed by the first inhabitants of the place, then placed on a cart and pulled by oxen. The town is said to have sprung up on the spot where the cart stopped its journey.

Capurso has passed through various foreign dominations, often suffering devastation and ruin. Over the centuries, Norman, Swabian and Angevin dominations followed. It was only with the advent of the Aragonese and, above all, thanks to the enlightened policies of Queen Bona Sforza, that the town took on a civic dignity of its own.

The French Revolution also had its effects on Capurso, where liberal ferments developed in support of a Neapolitan Republic as opposed to Bourbon domination.

The patron saint of Capurso is Santa Maria del Pozzo, venerated following a miracle that occurred in 1705. In that year, in fact, a priest from Capurso, Don Domenico Tanzella, was in very poor health. The Patron Saint is celebrated from dawn on the last Sunday in August.

There are two signs of entrustment to the Virgin: the handing over, by the Rector Friar of the Sanctuary, of the keys to the city and a golden rose donated by a Capurso family. Immediately afterwards, accompanied by evocative chants and supplications, there is the entrance of the company of pilgrims from Bisceglie.

It is one of the most beautiful moments of the feast and from here onwards tens of thousands of people visit the Virgin in fact Capurso is a destination for religious tourism, with many pilgrims visiting the Basilica and the Chapel from all over the world.

After the celebration, the solemn procession with coloured banners parades through the city streets and accompanies the Holy Image of Santa Maria del Pozzo with hundreds of candles. During the procession there are Marian songs and moments of prayer, and people pay homage to the Statue with fireworks, coloured rose petals and balloons let fly as she passes as a sign of joy and gratitude.

Sunday evening also sees the night procession dedicated to Our Lady of the Well, in which the majestic and glittering hand-drawn Triumphal Chariot, dedicated to her, parades, accompanied by almost two hundred figures in 18th-century dress.

The imposing procession is cadenced by the Marian melodies played by the band and the pressing rhythm of the musicians. Of great beauty are the architecture of the old town and the main churches, which fascinate the visitor between history and spirituality.

To visit: Basilica of Santa Maria del Pozzo, Cappella del Pozzo, Convent of San Francesco da Paola, Mother Church of the Santissimo Salvatore.

Photo by: Nicola Taranto.