The best running trails around Fiume Ofanto Natural Park

The site of Canne della Battaglia is mainly remembered for the decisive battle of 216 BC, fought between the Romans and Carthaginians during the Second Punic War. The hilly reliefs overlooking the Ofanto valley have been inhabited since the Neolithic period and continuously until the 3rd century BC, most likely in conjunction with the epic clash that disrupted the settlement patterns of the entire area. In Roman times, it is recalled in the sources as the emporium of Canusium, in whose shadow it lived until the latter's abandonment in the second half of the 9th century. From this moment, Canne began its most important historical phase, linked to the stabilization of Byzantine power in Puglia. Thanks to its strategic position, the Cannese village, likely built on a pre-existing Roman structure and known today as the 'Cittadella', was re-occupied from the late antique period and consolidated in the following centuries, around two main centers, the basilicas and the castle, also thanks to the establishment of a diocese, led, in the early 12th century, by Ruggero, the current patron saint of Barletta. The antiquarium annexed to the archaeological park was created in the late 1950s for the valorization and conservation of artifacts from excavations conducted in the area, starting from the Ventennio, a period of frenetic exaltation of Roman grandeur. Today's exhibition favors the narration of events related to the Second Punic War and the great battle that represented a trauma for the surrounding territory and for the indomitable Roman army. However, according to the current state of research, no archaeological documentation referring to the clash of 216 BC has yet been found, nor can the reconstruction of the landscape on these hills, as described by historical sources, particularly Livy and Polybius, be considered plausible. Rather, the site of Canne, in addition to being located in an area of great landscape and natural value, constitutes, to this day, one of the most interesting examples of abandoned medieval settlements in Italy.

216 BC. Museum, ruins of the old city built on the site of the Carthaginian camp. Entrance to the museum is 6 euros. You can lock your bike nearby.

Beautiful mural with the protagonists of the fight against the mafia

Impressive archaeological site, great history. Unfortunately I didn't read it carefully, unfortunately closed today.

The Antiquarium, located at the foot of the fortified citadel and the Archaeological Park, with the remains of the ancient Daunian settlement and the structures from the Roman, early Christian and medieval eras, today offer visitors a complex and fascinating itinerary.

We are located between the cities of Canosa and Barletta, the site is located on a hill overlooking the right bank of the Ofanto river.

The museum and the archaeological park are located in an area of great landscape and naturalistic value and are included in the Ofanto Regional Natural Park.

The city of Canne has very ancient origins. The area was highly populated since the 5th-6th millennium BC. as evidenced by some tools found in the area. The Roman city arose between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. as a simple village and here in 216 BC. the famous battle of Cannae took place which marked a harsh defeat for the Romans at the hands of Hannibal's army, which, although numerically inferior, managed to prevail thanks to a tactical expedient known as the pincer maneuver. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a period of decline also began for Cannae. It was destroyed by Totila's Ostrogothic troops and after a slow recovery the city flourished again in the shadow of Canosa until the destruction of the latter by the Saracens in 872. The city was the scene of many important battles and had its period of maximum flowering under Byzantine domination until 1083 when it passed under the dominion of the Normans and was destroyed again and was never able to recover.