The town stretches degrading against the backdrop of the woods that cover the surrounding hills.

The compact size of the Mother Church dominates the urban layout of clear medieval origin, dating back to the cylindrical tower, the main historical attraction of the village, which refers to the invoice and date of construction during the Byzantine domination of Daunia. In fact, in the early decades of the eleventh century, the Byzantines decided to consolidate the dominion of northern Puglia. It is probably within this geopolitical scenario that the foundation of some settlements is also founded, including Biccari. With the Norman conquest the village developed in the shadow of the Tower as a fortified center. Later it passed into the 15th century under the rule of the Stendardo noble family who moved to the Kingdom of Naples following the Angevins.

To this family we owe the construction of the stone cross of Pozzi gate (1473) and of St. Anthony’s Convent “outside the walls”. The Caracciolo, on the other hand, owes the building, in the sixteenth century, of the stately building, currently the Town Hall. In addition to the Tower and the Mother Church dedicated to the Assumption, which preserves valuable works of the Neapolitan school, the church of Saint Quirico and the Church of the Annunziata deserve a stop.

A few kilometers from the town are the remains of Tertiveri, a missing medieval city, one of the oldest bishop’s sites in Daunia. The finds in the Boschetto district, on the other hand, attest to the frequentation of the Biccari’s agricultural area since the Neolithic age. Furthermore, several finds from the Bronze Age reveal that the territory was particularly used for pastoralism. Even today, the highlands surrounding Mount Sidone and Mount Cornacchia are home to beautiful pastures, whose recognized natural value is among the reasons for the establishment of the protected area “Mount Cornacchia – Faeto woods”, which also includes the site of Lake Pescara. It is one of the most beautiful natural areas of the Daunia mountains, renowned for the amenity of its landscapes and for its precious faunistic and environmental heritage.

 

PLACES TO GO

In town
The medieval tower. The 15th century church of Saint Quirico. The Mother Church of the Assumption. The stone cross of Pozzi’s gate (1473). The fifteenth-century St. Anthony’s Convent. Caracciolo palace, current seat of the Town Hall. The ethnographic museum of peasant civilization.

Nearby
The rural village and the remains of the medieval tower of Tertiveri. The rural village and the church of Saint Mary of Vulgano. Lake Pescara. Pescara’s Toppo and Mount Cornacchia (which with its 3.776 ft. is the highest peak in Puglia). Tufo’s vado. Cerasa woods (equipped with picnic areas).

EVENTS CALENDAR

• January 17th lighting of large fireworks in honor of St. Anthony the Abbot.
• June 13th celebrations for Saint Antony of Padova.
• Saint Donato’s day festival on August 7th.

Roberta De Iulio