Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Trani

TRANI, a seaport of Italy, on the Adriatic, in the province of Bari, and 26 miles by rail west-north-west of that town, still retains its old walls and bastions, with the citadel, now used as a prison. Some of the streets remain much as they were in the mediaeval period, and many of the houses display more or less of Norman decoration. The cathedral, on a raised open site near the sea, dating from about the year 1100, is a basilica with three apses, a large crypt, and a lofty tower. The arches of the Romanesque portal are beautifully ornamented, in a manner suggestive of Arab influence; the bronze doors, executed by Barisanus of Trani in 1175, rank among the best of their period in southern Italy. The capitals of the pillars in the crypt are fine examples of the Romanesque. The interior of the cathedral has been barbarously modernized. The vicinity of Trani produces an excellent wine (Moscado di Trani); and its figs, oil, almonds, and corn are also profitable articles of trade. The harbour was once deep and good, but latterly has got silted up. The population of the town in 1881 was 25,173 (commune 25,647).

Trani is the Turenum of the itineraries. It first became a flourishing place under the Normans and during the crusades, but attained the acme of its prosperity as a seat of trade with the East under the Angevine princes. Several synagogues continue to afford an indication of its former commercial prosperity.