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Historical Profile of Capurso Origins Town Growth Middle Ages Historical Structures King of Time Feudal Property Road Network Communities Outside the Walls Madonna of the Well Sanctuary Cemeteries Town Life and Public Services Railroad and Contemporary Expansion Emigration ed Immigration References Origins The origin of Capurso probably goes back to the year 888, when Bari was a possession of Anjon, prince of Benevento. The origin of the name is uncertain. Some attribute it to the Latin term "locus caprutium," goat pasture, from which came Caprusium, and hence Capursium, the Latin name of Capurso. A popular legend instead attributes the name to some hunters who buried the head of a bear they had killed under an oak tree where the town of Capurso later rose. The Latin version of head of a bear is "caput ursi", wherefrom Capursium is thought to come from. The coat of arms for the town draws from this story showing the head of a bear. Town Growth Capurso started out very small, some houses and farms, and grew slowly. The major influxes of people came when people living on the seacoast sought refuge in the hinterland, where Capurso was located among other towns, following the excursions of pirates and Saracens that plundered the Mediterranean coasts in that period. Capurso was a well established center in the eleventh century as mentioned in many historical documents that refer to Capurso at that time. The population grew to about a thousand people by the 1500 and to approximately 5,000 people by the beginning of the twentieth century. Capurso counted about 7,000 people after World War II, and has double that number (14,000) in recent decades due to an influx of new people from Bari, nearby. Pizzoli Street, in the old section. Middle Ages During the Middle Ages, the portion Capurso that nowadays is referred to as the ancient section was enclosed by walls. The walls, with an external ditch, formed a continuous circle around the ancient town with only two doors: the public square door on the east side of town, and the the lake door on the west side, so called because the adjacent open area would flood readily when it rained. The walls were assimilated into private constructions in later centuries and have nearly disappeared. Remains are still visible at some locations as part of newer constructions. The two doors were torn down respectively in 1813 and 1868. Other crossings were opened later in the walls to provide easier accesses to the ancient section. Portions of the ancient walls. Historical Structures The ancient town had a castle that has since disappeared, two communal ovens, a public square, the Church of St. Anthony the Abbot (initially the master church), and tree other small churches that attest to the religious character of the life and appearance of the ancient town. The small Church of the Purgatory, that today has been rededicated to the Madonna of the Carmine, was constructed in 1666. The little Church of St. Anthony of Padua was constructed on the old town wall. Madonna del Carmine Church. King of Time The Church of St. Salvatore was built in 1535 by Queen Bona Sforza, and was later rededicated to St. Bernardino, now the master church for the town. The town wall nearby was demolished in 1818 in order to construct the sacristy for the church and other premises. The public clock and the King of Time were built in 1825, quickly becoming popular icons for the town of Capurso. The statue of a bearded king dominated from the turret pointing with one hand to the clock and the passing of time, hence King of Time. The clock had two bells that rang the passing of the hours. The unexpected collapse of the sacristy on March 21, 1975, destroyed the clock and the King of Time. The sacristy was rebuilt, but the clock and the King of Time were not and have faded into history. King of Time. Feudal Property In the Middle Ages the town passed on as property from a lord to another; they had absolute civil and penal powers on the people that they governed for the monarchs. Several families were noteworthy. The period of Queen Bona Sforza was probably the most prolific and benevolent for the town. Queen Bona was born from Gian Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan, and Isabella of Aragon, daughter of king Alfonso, and married to Sigmund, king of Poland, in 1517. Capurso was one of the Queen's possession and her rule produced several works, among which is the master church. The history of Capurso continued like this until napoleonic times when servitude ended. Master Church. Road Network In ancient times, Capurso was connected with Cellamare, Noicattaro, Triggiano, Carbonara, and Valenzano. Traveling to Bari required going through Triggiano, and for Casamassima one had to travel through Cellamare. The Ognissanti road appears to have been a branch of the ancient Appian road constructed by the Roman that through Egnazia reached Brindisi. The construction of the Consolare road allowed Capurso to be connected directly to Bari on one side and to Casamassima on the other side. Noicattaro road was built in 1829, while the rectilinear road to Valenzano was constructed in 1845. Communities Outside the Walls As the town expanded, other communities and neighborhoods settled just outside of the ancient town walls. These neighborhoods are known as follows: Mastracina, Piscino, St. Barbara (going towards Carbonara), Grottemorgola, and Ognissanti (going towards Valenzano). Other churches were built outside of the ancient section; they include: the Church of St. Mary Ara Coeli, where now rises the Church of St. Francis; the Church of the Madonna delle Grazie, built in 1606 at the fork of the roads that led respectively to Noicattaro and Cellamare; the Church of St. Carlo built in 1698; the small Church of St. Lorenzo built on the road towards Noicattaro in 1705; and the small Church of St. Gaetano built on the the hill of Pacifico. Noteworthy was also the "neviera," built on the road to Noicattaro; it was a magazine where snow was stored in winter and then sold to the public in summer. Madonna delle Grazie Church. St. Gaetano Church. Madonna of the Well Sanctuary According to folklore, the priest Domenico Tanzella in 1705, being very sick and near death, had a vision of the Madonna instructing him to drink water from a nearby ground well. This ground well was located on the road to Noicattaro, and the priest recovered completely after he had drunk water taken from that well. Afterwards, the priest and two other people descended into the well to find out about this miraculous water and discovered an image of the Madonna on the wall at the bottom of the well. This image separated miraculously from the wall and the priest had it placed in a chapel that was built nearby. The picture, clearly of Byzantine origins, probably goes back to the times of the iconoclasic fury of the Byzantine Emperor "Leone Isaurico" that forced "basiliani" monks to escape back to the Italian coasts. The discovery of the image spread troughout the region, then the realm, creating a cult for the Madonna of the Well that culminated in the nineteenth century and continues to these days. Madonna of the Well. Sanctuary from old picture. Inside the well. The cult and care of the Madonna of the Well fell initially to the order of the Alcantarini friars. They first built a convent in 1750, with the donations and offerings received from the faithfuls and pilgrims. Later the friars built a great church where now resides the image recovered from the well; the church was completed in 1770. The cult of the Madonna of the Well made the town of Capurso well known throughout the realm, attracting nobility and ecclesiasts from all over Italy and later the world. The church was designated a minor basilica by Pope Pius IX in 1853; the well itself where the image had been found, since fallen in a state of abandonment, was restored and provided with a chapel and a stairwell that leads pilgrims to the bottom of the well. The chaotic events that led to the political unification of Italy in 1861 and the following decades were tempestuous years that saw the convent of the Alcantarini friars pass to civilian control first, then to the control of priests under civilian administration, and finally to the control of the "Minori" Friars, successors to the Alcantarini friar order, at the beginning of the 1900s. The new century brought more discord; the Franciscan friars took final control of the convent in 1967. Cemeteries Capurso has an old cemetery on the road to Carbonara that was opened in 1850. A newer cemetery, bigger and modern, was opened in 1903. Town Life and Public Services Life for the people of Capurso was poor under the feudal system and during the Bourbonic reign. Few people knew how to read and write; elementary schools were opened in 1862. The standard of living during the 1800s remained poor and frugal; the main economic activity was agriculture and there was almost no commerce. The water came from wells and underground reservoirs. Beyond providing water, city hall provided for the distribution in summer of snow stored during winter in the "neviera." Public lighting was nonexistent; the town at night was completely in the dark. Homes were illuminated by kitchen-oil lamps, candles, and some kerosene lamps. Roads were deserted at dusk and there were no taverns, bars, or other public meeting places. Capurso acquired used kerosene lamps from the city of Bari in 1869, in order to provide some street lighting. In 1902, street light illumination was modernized to utilize acetylene gas. A project for electrical street lighting was first proposed in 1913 and was finally realized in 1923. Farmer with horse drawn hoe. Railroad and Contemporary Expansion The "Ferrovia Sud-Est" (Sud-Est Railroad Company) proposed to establish a line that connected Bari to Locorondo in 1883, passing through Capurso; work began in 1890. A road was built in Capurso in 1907 connecting the railway station, at the periphery of town, to the main public square. The Villa Comunale (a town park) was constructed in the opening in front of the Madonna of the Well in 1903. A memorial to the fallen soldiers during the World War of 1915-18 was added to the park in 1924. A bypass road was conceived in 1903 to reroute traffic from the center of town and relieve congestion; the plan was subjected to many modifications and negotiations and was finally realized in 1929 as a link between the park and the road to Casamassima. The "Aqueddotto Pugliese" (a government entity organized for a project to provide water to Puglia in the early 1900s) revolutionized life for the whole Puglia region, including Capurso. Public fountains were constructed where people could fill up jars, bottles, and buckets with water. Public fountain. Contemporary buildings. Development plans were prepared in 1972 for the constructions of new housing, bringing in a remarkable and programmed expansion of the town. There was a large influx of new residents, mostly from Bari, the much larger city nearby seat of local government for the region. Contemporary works include the communal slaughter house of 1965, the new city hall center of the same year, and the new junior high school building. Capurso has become an active community in the urban ring that has developed around Bari in the last few decades. Emigration ed Immigration Following the migratory flux in the first half of the twentieth century, especially in the years following the Second World War, people from Capurso emigrated in great number seeking work and opportunities abroad. New York and Chicago, among the greater metropolitan areas in North America, are hosts to large numbers of Capurso-people relocated abroad, maintaining alive the cultural traditions of Capurso as well as the commercial and cultural ties with the native town. The celebration of the Madonna of the Well remains an important August appointment in Capurso for many natives abroad. One of the larger of these groups is located in the small city of Shiller Park in the Chicago suburb. Shiller Park and Capurso signed a sister-city agreement in 1994 confirming and strengthening the cultural ties that unite Capurso-people scattered all over the world. The last decades have seen a phenomenal reversal in Capurso with emigration changing into immigration. The emigration of Capurso natives towards foreign countries came to an end in the seventies, while a great number of natives from Bari began to move to and settle in Capurso, following an explosive growth in the region. The demographic jump, with a population doubling in just few years, has caused a rapid urban adjustment and considerable socio-economical changes. Industrial and commercial facilities have sprung along the old Statale 100 road, supplying hundreds of jobs. The town has changed more in the last few decades than in the previous millennium. Capurso natives in Chicago, USA. Madonna of the Well feast in Capurso. References [1]. Francesco Porcelli, Parliamo di Capurso, A cura del complesso edilizio Borgo S. Michele Arcangelo. [2]. Gino Pastore, Racconti Popolari, Tra verità e Invenzioni, Levanti Editori, Bari, 2000. [3]. Michele Mariella, La Storia della Madonna del Pozzo, Edizioni LMP, Capurso, 1996.

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