"L’arredo liturgico medievale della Cattedrale di Bari: note per una sintesi critica tra storia e storiografia"

The Cathedral of Bari hosted liturgical furnishings from different phases of the Middle Ages, responding to certain historical circumstances and to both different cultual and aesthetic demands. However, during the very long history of this monument, modifications, dismantling, and dispersions have affected – as very often happens – the medieval furnishings, disseminating their materials not only within the monumental complex, but also in various museums of the city. In this paper, historical events but also historiographic items concerning all these surviving evidences are retraced, ideally bringing them here together to focus on chronologies and on some still critical issues. Material, bibliographic and documentary data, published and unpublished, are therefore put into a systematic dialogue. The aim is to provide an updated summary of the status quæstionis of the studies on these works of art as well as to arouse new ideas for reflection on the efforts taking place over the centuries for redefining the sacred space within the metropolitan seat of Bari.