Canosa di Puglia
[key], Lat. Canusium, city, Apulia, S Italy, on the
Ofanto River. It is a commercial and agricultural center. The city
flourished under the Romans and was noted for its wool and its fine vases,
many of which have been unearthed in nearby tombs (3d and 4th cent.
b.c.). The Romans fled to Canusium after their disastrous
defeat by Hannibal at nearby Cannae (216 b.c.). The city was
destroyed by the Arabs in the 9th cent. but was resettled by the Normans in
the 11th cent. There are other Roman remains, including walls, an
amphitheater, and a gate. The city also has an 11th-century Romanesque
cathedral and the mausoleum of the Norman leader Bohemond I (d. 1111), which
has fine sculptured bronze doors.
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