Numerous tumuli, burial sites built with rough stones, have been found in the districts of S. Barbara, S. Lucia, and Castel del Monte.
In 1046, it was taken from Byzantine rule by Peter the Norman, along with Trani and the rest of its territory, and like other centers (Barletta, Bisceglie, and Corato), it became a fortified city, elevated to the rank of civitas, with twelve towers, three gates, and a fortress at the highest point.
Under Angevin rule, Andria was given in dowry to Beatrice, daughter of Charles II of Naples and wife of Bertrand del Balzo, Count of Montescaglioso, who resided in the city from 1308 until his death in 1330.
During those days, a priest, Oliviero Matusi, secretly hid the body of Saint Richard in a safe place inside the Cathedral to prevent the Hungarians from stealing it.
After 49 days of siege, the Duke of Andria, seeing the dire conditions of his people, surrendered, and peace was restored between the del Balzo and Orsini families.
He was also present along with Giacomo della Ratta at the Diet of Mantua in 1459 and probably established a series of relationships with princes and intellectuals of the period, including Leon Battista Alberti.
When Isabella del Balzo married Federico d'Aragona in Andria, the duchy passed to the royal house, and her husband ruled it until 1496 when he became king of Naples.
Modern Age In 1503, in the plain between Andria and Corato, precisely in "Terra Quadrati," the famous Disfida di Barletta took place, which pitted the Italians led by Ettore Fieramosca against the French.
After the conquest of the Kingdom of Naples by Ferdinand the Catholic in 1504, Andria was assigned to the "Gran Capitano" Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, and then to his nephew, Fernando Consalvo II.
The successor, Fabrizio Carafa, was responsible for the construction of the Benedictine monastery and the basilica of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, following the discovery in 1576 of a miraculous icon.
Subsequently, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the city remained under the rule of the Carafa dukes, in constant conflict with the bishop and the cathedral chapter, with whom the family shared possession of most of the land.
In 1797, the city obtained the right to elect its own mayor, and in 1799, during the Neapolitan Republic, it was besieged by the French army led by General Jean-Baptiste Broussier and supported by Count Ettore Carafa himself.
Subsequently, after the failure of the Republic, and the lack of revolution, the Bourbons had the leading Neapolitan republicans executed, including Count Ettore Carafa, guillotined in Naples on September 4, 1799.
Under Napoleonic rule and the reigns of Joseph Bonaparte and Joachim Murat, the feudal system was abolished, and many convents were suppressed, while electoral rights were increased.
After annexation to the Kingdom of Italy, the territory was the scene of brigandage actions: in 1865, the brigand leader Riccardo Colasuonno ("il Ciucciariello") was executed there.
The abolition of the latifundium and the confiscation of ecclesiastical property led to the formation of a land-owning bourgeoisie, promoting specialized agricultural productions and a thriving craft industry.
On October 6, 2015, reporter and documentarian Nicola Ferrara found the painting in the list of works exhibited in the museum and made the image public through a documentary dedicated to it.
It is noteworthy that the film producer Cataldo Balducci presented the documentary "Grandiosa manifestazione per il primo maggio 1913 ad Andria (indetta dalle classi operaie)" which depicts the festival in 7 scenes, showing the procession along Via Cavour, Via Ettore Fieramosca, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, reaching Via Garibaldi, the square, and the Municipal Palace, Porta Sant'Andrea.
After the Second World War, in March 1946, due to the refusal of a local company to hire four veterans, a peasant revolt broke out, involving the seizure of some landowners and the erection of barricades.
From the 1950s onwards, there was a gradual economic recovery, favored by the inauguration in 1965 of the Bari-Barletta railway line, which connected Bari with the municipalities of the hinterland of the northern province.
Andria was a favorite residence of Emperor Frederick II, who built the imposing 13th-century Castel del Monte about 15 km south of the city center; it is one of the most famous Italian castles, and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.