Bitonto is an Italian municipality that counts nearly 60.000 citizens inside the Metropolitan area of Bari, in Puglia. Bitonto is well-known as "the olive trees city" for the extent of the olive groves surrounding the district and the oil production, already known in the XIII century, that even to this very day is the main economic resource of the town.
The city already has a thousand-year old story: it was founded by the Peucetii, it was a Roman municipium, a prosperous medieval burgh, the "civitas specialis" under Federico II and then grew as an important cultural center in the XVII century.
The Old City, one of the most beautiful in Italy, is made up by many buildings of great historical-architectural interest, museums and monuments. Let us remember the Romanesque Bitonto Cathedral (Cattedrale di S. Valentino), the opposite Guglia dell'Immacolata, the Castle (Torrione Angioino), the Devanna National Gallery and the Traetta Theatre that has been lately brought back to its former glory.
Moreover the district holds two areas of naturalistic interest: the Alta Murgia National Park and the Lama Balice Regional Park in which there are many bike paths across amazing landscapes. In summer Bitonto catches thousands of tourists thanks to many music festival of national interest and the Our Lady's Day, during which it is possible to enjoy typical products that are exported all over the world.
The city is well-linked both at regional and national and international level thanks to a direct link with the airport “Woytila" and the railway line to Bari and the Capital of Culture 2016 i.e. Matera.
Over the past few years Bitonto has invested a lot in the improvement of the sustainable mobility, taking measures as the bike sharing, the multimodality shuttle, Taxi Didattico and Pedibus.
Taking part in the ECC 2016, Bitonto is ready and takes up the challenge to achieve a sustainable development.