It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the plateau of the Murgia which dominates the Ofanto valley and the extensive plains of Tavoliere delle Puglie, ranging from Mount Vulture at the Gargano, to the Adriatic coast.

Canosa, the Roman Canusium, is considered the principal archaeological center of Apulia, and is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in Italy.

It is not far from the position on the Ofanto River where the Romans found refuge after the defeat of the Battle of Cannae and is the burial place of Bohemund I of Antioch.

The city is built on a mostly sandy or clay surface that covers a limestone layer ("calcareniti of Gravina") which in turn constitutes the typical white-yellowish tuff and is easily collapsible.

The Diomedea fields[clarification needed] were one of the main centers of the Dauni, a northern branch of the Iapyges, during the Neolithic (6th to 4th millennia BC).

Following Hannibal's 216 BC victory over the consuls Paullus and Varro at nearby Cannae, Canosa protected the fleeing remnants of the Roman army within its walls.

[4] Horace's Satires complain of the area's gritty bread and bad water[12][13] but note that the people were still fluent in both Latin and Greek.

[12] In the early 9th century, Muslims entirely destroyed the town and, in 844, Bishop Angelarius translated the relics of SS Rufinus, Memorus, and Sabinus to Bari.

[citation needed] As a fief, it was controlled by the Casati, the Orsini of Balzo [it], the Grimaldi of Monaco, the Gemmis family of Castelfoce, the Affaitati of Barletta, and the Capece Minutolo of Naples.

[12] After the Italian Wars of Independence and the disastrous earthquake in 1851, Canosa remained predominantly bourgeois town as demonstrated by the construction of palaces.

On 17 September 1962, by decree of the President, Canosa was awarded the title of City for its historical traditions and the merits acquired by the community.

Currently the economy of Canosa is based mainly on agriculture, with a service sector (archaeological, tourism) and industry and handicrafts, including textiles, food processing and manufacturing.

[20] After the earthquake of 1851, the cathedral was damaged and the restoration work led to an expansion of the Latin cross, as well as the reconstruction of the facade in local tuff with three portals, each corresponding to the aisles.

Opposite the door to the Mausoleum is a stone carved heraldic device, a Lion Rampant, the style of which appears contemporary with Bohemond, and could therefore represent his personal coat of arms.

An asymmetrical bronze double door (now preserved in the side chapel in the adjoining Basilica of Our Lady of the Fountain) was probably created by Roger Melfi (11th century).

Mayor Vincent Sinesi who in 1888 arranged the building adjacent to the Cathedral and the Mausoleum of Bohemond to be donated to the municipality by a few Canosa families.

The lapidarium is composed of a remarkable archaeological heritage with Dauna and Roman inscriptions, funerary reliefs, capitals and columns, lintels, and the well of the imperial villas.

Originally a place of worship and pre-Roman fort, built of tufa blocks was rebuilt as a bastion of the same materials by the Grimaldi.

These were used first by Dauni as pagan catacombs, and, within them, celebrated funerary cults, demonstrating an advanced civilization in the vast era from 6000 BC to 2nd century AD).

[22] Over the years, however, many of these artifacts (including precious jewelry in gold and bronze, pottery, red figures and askos) have been lost (or in private hands) due to grave robbers.

The structure is the result of merging the cultures of Magna Graecia and Italica consisting of a cell dedicated to worship located between two large rooms, with polychrome mosaics, tufa plastered figured capitals and painted columns in Doric – Ionic.

[23] The Basilica di San Pietro was the first cathedral of the Christian era, then transformed into a tomb of Saint Sabino (556), patron of Canosa.

[23] Among other monuments are the Ofanto Roman Bridge (1st century AD), which allowed the passage of the Via Traiana from one side of the river and was used for road traffic until the 1970s.

There are inscriptions, sculptures, reliefs, marbles, coins, jewelry, ceramics and pottery dating back to a broad span of about 1500 years representing the ancient Dauno, Roman, early Christian and medieval Byzantine.

The museum, through an extensive development of original objects, traces the daily rural life in the last century, browsing habits and customs of a civilization now vanished.

The main products under the brand IGT (Typical Geographic Indication) are: Nero di Troia, Trebbiano, Cabernet Sauvignon, Puglia Rosso, Sangiovese.

The city's central position in relation to the surrounding area, however, helped give rise to particular firms in the textile and food industries.

Recently (2005) there have been controversies and protests by farmers due to low scores on local products, which have followed the movement disruption and confrontation with the recording of incidents of crime.

The rolas a strategic road junction has allowed the city to host a number of distribution centers for goods, such as fruits and medicines.

After a long and complicated litigation between the municipal administration and the manufacturers of the plant, in March 2007 a decision of the Council of State overturned the building permit for the construction.