Cannae

Summary

Cannae (now Canne della Battaglia, Italian pronunciation: [ˈkanne della batˈtaʎʎa]) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a frazione (civil parish) of the comune (municipality) of Barletta. Cannae was formerly a bishopric, and is presently (2022) a Latin Catholic titular see.

Remains of Cannae.

Geography edit

 
Map of Cannae in antiquity

The commune of Cannae is situated near the river Aufidus (the modern Ofanto), on a hill on the right (i.e., south) bank, 9.6 kilometers (6 mi) southwest of its mouth, and 9 km southwest of Barletta.

History edit

It is primarily known for the Battle of Cannae, in which the numerically superior Roman army suffered a disastrous defeat by Hannibal in 216 BC (see Punic Wars). There is a considerable controversy as to whether the battle took place on the right or the left bank of the river.[1]

In later times the place became a municipium, and the remains of an unimportant Roman town still exist upon the hill known as Monte di Canne. In the Middle Ages, probably after the destruction of Canosa di Puglia in the 9th century, it became a bishopric, and again saw military action in the second battle of Cannae, twelve centuries after the more famous one (1018). The Byzantine katapan, Basilios Bojoannes, successfully drove off the invading Lombard and Norman army.[2] The town was wrecked in 1083 by Robert Guiscard, who left only the cathedral and bishop's residence,[3] and was ultimately destroyed in 1276.[1]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
  2. ^ Gordon S. Brown, The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily, (London: McFarland 2003), p. 22.
  3. ^ Benigni, Umberto. "Trani and Barletta." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Retrieved: 26 November 2022.

Bibliography edit

  • Berry, Small, Talbert, Elliott, Gillies, Becker, 'Cannae' in Pleiades Gazetteer: http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/442523
  • Cappelletti, Giuseppe (1870). Le chiese d'Italia dalla loro origine sino ai nostri giorni (in Italian). Vol. vigesimoprimo (21). Venezia: Antonelli. pp. 66–69.
  • Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1914). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 117.
  • Gams, Pius Bonifacius Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, reprint: Leipzig 1931, pp. 865–866.
  • Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1913). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 162.
  • Hammond, N.G.L. & Scullard, H.H. (Eds.) (1970). The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-869117-3. p. 201.
  • Pius VII (1818), "De utiliori," in: Bullarii romani continuatio, Vol. XV, Rome 1853, pp. 56–61.

External links edit

41°17′47″N 16°09′06″E / 41.29639°N 16.15167°E / 41.29639; 16.15167