Gravina in Puglia

Gravina in Puglia (Italian: [ɡraˈviːna im ˈpuʎʎa]; Barese: Gravéine [ɡraˈviːnə, ɡraˈvejnə]; Latin: Silvium; Ancient Greek: Σιλούϊον, romanized: Siloúïon) is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy.

The word gravina comes from the Latin grava or from the messapic graba, with the meaning of rock, shaft and erosion of bank river.

An important find of a skeleton belonging to an Asiatic man in the Vagnari necropolis testifies the existence of relations between the town of Gravina and the Far East already in 200 BCE.

The Itineraries place it 20 miles (32 km) from Venusia, on the branch of the Appian Way which led direct to Tarentum.Later it was ruled by Byzantines, Lombards and North African Muslims.

A famous count of the former was Gilbert, who was sent by his cousin, the Queen regent Margaret of Navarre to the peninsula to combat the Holy Roman Emperor.

The commune of Gravina in Puglia produces a white denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) Italian wine that can be made in a still or sparkling Spumante style.

The wine is made primarily (40-65%) from Malvasia del Chianti, Greco di Tufo and Bianco d'Alessano with the last two grape varieties collectively permitted to make up between 35 and 60% of the blend.

The ruins of Frederick II 's castle in Gravina in Puglia