Apulia · Foggia
Biccari
A Subappennino Dauno borgo under Monte Cornacchia, the highest peak in Puglia, with a Byzantine tower at its core.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 7 min from Bari
- Population
- 2,636
Known for
MONTE CORNACCHIA
At 1,151 meters the highest peak in Puglia, on the commune boundary, beech and oak forest above the Tavoliere haze.
BYZANTINE TOWER
Square watchtower built around 1024 under Basilio Boioannes, the structure the village grew around and the still-standing core of the centro storico.
REPOPULATION
Active Comuni Virtuosi scheme to bring residents back to the centro storico, including subsidised second homes and shared-services projects.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M22°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Donato d'Arezzo, 8 August
Why come
Biccari sits on the eastern slope of the Subappennino Dauno, with Monte Cornacchia rising behind it, the highest point in Puglia. The municipal territory runs from the peak down to the Tavoliere plain, an unusual vertical range for a Puglian commune. The village was founded by Byzantine catepan Basilio Boioannes around 1024, then taken in the 1050s by a Norman called Pagano who fortified the original tower into a small castrum.
The Torre Bizantina still stands at the centre of the village, a square stone tower that names everything around it. The town carries four institutional signals at once, including Bandiera Arancione and Comuni Virtuosi, and runs an active second-home repopulation scheme. A Neolithic site at Boschetto, 700 meters up the Organo torrent, is one of the highest of its age in Puglia, evidence of seasonal habitation four thousand years before Christ.
The Sunday letter
Biccari is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Biccari comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Biccari in our articles
The best small hill towns in Puglia6 towns, Biccari among them.
The best hidden olive oil towns within 90 minutes of Foggia7 towns, Biccari among them.
The best hidden hill towns within 90 minutes of Foggia8 towns, Biccari among them.
The best hidden olive oil towns in Puglia10 towns, Biccari among them.
How to get there
From Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2 hours by car.
Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 2h 36m away.
By car from the centre of Bari 2 hours, Pescara 2h 28m or Salerno 2h 29m.
Coming by train into Foggia? Biccari is about 41 minutes away by road.
What to see
Torre Bizantina
Square stone watchtower built by the Byzantine catepan around 1024, the structure the Norman fortifications grew around, still the highest point in the village.
Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Assunta
Mother church in the centro storico, rebuilt over the centuries on Byzantine and Norman foundations, anchoring the upper village.
Lago Pescara
Small upland lake in the Cornacchia foothills, used for fishing and a summer walking circuit, at the edge of the beech and oak woodland.
Monte Cornacchia
At 1,151 meters the highest peak in Puglia, on the boundary of the commune, with trails up from Biccari through beech forest.
Sito Neolitico di Boschetto
Neolithic settlement at 700 meters on the Organo torrent, one of the highest sites of its age in Puglia, evidence of seasonal use 4,000 years BC.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Biccari fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 2,636
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Bari / Brindisi, 2 h 3 min drive
- Regional capital Bari, 2 h 7 min drive
Common questions
- What is Biccari known for?
- Biccari is a Subappennino Dauno borgo at 450 meters under Monte Cornacchia, the highest peak in Puglia at 1,151 meters, with a Byzantine tower at its core.
- Where is Biccari?
- Biccari is a comune in the province of Foggia, in Apulia.
- What is the nearest airport to Biccari?
- Bari / Brindisi (BRI), about 2 hours by car.
- How long is the drive from Bari to Biccari?
- About 2 hours by car.
- When is the best time to visit Biccari?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Biccari?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Donato d'Arezzo, 8 August.
- Which other towns are like Biccari?
- Pietramontecorvino, Taverna and Montefiore Conca.
- How many people live in Biccari?
- 2,636 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 450 m
- Population: 2,636
- Surface area: 106.65 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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