Monastero di Santa Maria di Colonna, Romanesque monastery in Trani, Italy

Monastero di Santa Maria di Colonna is a Romanesque monastery on the Capo Colonna peninsula in Trani, built around a three-nave church with a carved rose window on its facade. Inside, squared stone columns carry the vaults, which is a feature typical of the Apulian Romanesque style found throughout this region.

Goffredo Siniscalco founded the monastery in the early 11th century and placed it under the care of Benedictine monks. Over the following centuries, repeated raids by Saracen pirates disrupted the community and left a mark on how the site developed.

Every 3 May a procession of fishing boats carries a wooden crucifix from the monastery to the harbour quay, recalling the 1480 raid in which pirates mutilated the image and threw it into the sea. The cloister, owned by the Comune di Trani, now hosts art exhibitions and conferences.

The monastery sits on the Capo Colonna peninsula and is best reached on foot through the old town of Trani. It is worth checking in advance whether the site is open, as access can be limited when religious services are taking place.

Excavations near the monastery have uncovered remains linked to the Iapygian civilization, including ancient walls and pottery fragments. This means the site had already been inhabited for a very long time before the first monks arrived.