Just outside the city walls stands the small Church of Saint Valentine—one of the oldest surviving churches in Bitonto. Built around the mid-12th century, it was dedicated to Saint Valentine under the patronage of the Cathedral Chapter, which owned the church for many centuries.
Its architectural layout closely mirrors that of the convent church of Saint Lucy, to which it is contemporary.
The church became a Benedictine priory and then passed into the hands of the Angevins. Subsequently, it was entrusted to the Knights Templar, who in 1549 transferred it back to the Cathedral Chapter of Bitonto. According to tradition, this is where the bishops of Bitonto would don their pontifical vestments before formally entering the city and taking possession of the episcopal throne.
Following medieval liturgical orientation, the church has a single nave and an apse facing east. The interior comprises two square bays, each covered by a hemispherical dome. On the outside, these domes are capped with distinctive pyramidal structures clad in thin stone slabs—a construction technique typical of the period.
The modest yet evocative facade features a Romanesque portal crowned by a carved archivolt and a small circular window that filters light into the interior. On the southern side stands a truncated tower, now used as a sacristy.
In 1940, the church underwent a major restoration, which preserved its original character and returned it to the city as a precious example of medieval architecture.
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