BARLETTA, the ancient Bardulum, called in the Middle Ages Barolum, a fortified seaport town of Italy, the seat of an archbishop, in the province of Terra di Bari. It is 33 miles N.W. of Bari,in lat.41° 19' 26" N., long. 16° 18'10 ,l E. The town is well built and handsome; the houses are large, and the streets wide and well paved. It has a fine Gothic cathedral (S. Maria Maggiore) with a lofty spire, a number of churches and convents, an orphan asylum, a college, a theatre, and a colossal statue, supposed by some to be of the Emperor Heraclius, but this is denied by other art critics. The harbour is formed by a mole, on which a lighthouse is erected, and it is commanded by the citadel. It is only capable of admitting small vessels, but the town has a considerable trade in grain, wine, oil, fruit, salt, <fcc. Barletta was once one of the strongest cities in Italy, and in the 13th and 14th centuries was a favourite residence of the kings of Naples. It was here that the first tournament in that part of Italy was held in 1259, and in 1503 a remarkable combat took place in the neighbourhood between two chosen bands of Italian and French knights, led by Colonna and Bayard respectively. Population, 28,613. (See Marullo, Diss. stör. sopra il colosso di Barletta, Naples, 1816.)