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14-507: It lies on a hill, 169 metres (554 ft) over the sea, and is famous for production of wine and olives. The history of Torremaggiore is strictly connected to that of the burg of (Castel) Fiorentino (di Puglia) , a Byzantine frontier stronghold founded by the Italian catepan Basil Boioannes in 1018. Fiorentina was the seat of the Diocese of Fiorentino , established in 1059. In 1391 it

28-533: A chapel and stained glass dedicated to Saint Marcouf . The bishop of Coutances exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Channel Islands until the Reformation , despite the secular division of Normandy in 1204. The final rupture occurred definitively in 1569. Coutances houses a well-known botanical garden and an art museum. Coutances is the location of Jazz sous les pommiers ("Jazz under

42-546: A line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of Salerno . North of that line, Amalfi and Naples also maintained allegiance to Constantinople through the catepan. The Italian region of Capitanata derives its name from katepanikion . Following the fall of the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751, Byzantium had been absent from the affairs of southern Italy for almost a century, but the accession of Basil I (reigned 867–886) to

56-754: Is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. The capital of the Unelli , a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus . The surrounding region, called in Latin the pagus Constantinus , subsequently became known as the Cotentin Peninsula . The town was destroyed by the invading Normans in 866; they later established settlements and incorporated

70-475: The theme of Longobardia in c. 892. The regions of Apulia, Calabria and Basilicata would remain firmly under Byzantine control until the 11th century. In c. 965, a new theme of Lucania was established, and the stratēgos (military governor) of Bari was raised to the title of katepanō of Italy, usually with the rank of patrikios . The title of katepanō meant "the uppermost" in Greek . This elevation

84-604: The Byzantine Empire), but the gains were "reversed by misfortune". The title Catapan of Apulia and Campania was revived briefly in 1166 for Gilbert, Count of Gravina , the cousin of the queen regent Margaret of Navarre . In 1167, with his authority as catapan, Gilbert forced German troops out of the Campania and compelled Frederick Barbarossa to raise the siege of Ancona . Coutances Coutances ( French pronunciation: [kutɑ̃s] )

98-538: The Holy Roman Emperor Louis II in 871, passed under Byzantine control in 876. The expeditions of the capable general Nikephoros Phokas the Elder in the mid-880s further extended Byzantine control over most of Apulia and Calabria . These victories were followed up by his successors and laid the foundation of a resurgence of Byzantine power in southern Italy, culminating in the establishment of

112-531: The fortress of Aversa in 1030. This gave the Normans their first foothold in southern Italy from which they began an organized conquest of the land. In 1030, William and Drogo, the two eldest sons of Tancred of Hauteville , a noble of Coutances in Normandy arrived in southern Italy. The two joined in the organized attempt to wrest Apulia from the Byzantines, who had lost most of that province by 1040. Bari

126-518: The throne of Constantinople changed this: from 868 on, the imperial fleet and Byzantine diplomats were employed in an effort to secure the Adriatic Sea from Saracen raids, re-establish Byzantine dominance over Dalmatia , and extend Byzantine control once more over parts of Italy. As a result of these efforts, Otranto was taken from the Saracens in 873, and Bari, captured from Arabs by

140-618: The wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 17.5 °C (63.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 5.5 °C (41.9 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Coutances was 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) on 5 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −14.4 °C (6.1 °F) on 17 January 1985. Coutances Cathedral is one of the major buildings of Norman architecture and contains

154-601: The whole peninsula into the Duchy of Normandy in 933. On 17 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II , the city was bombed during the Allied offensive against the occupying Germans. Coutances has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ). The average annual temperature in Coutances is 11.2 °C (52.2 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,061.2 mm (41.78 in) with December as

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168-586: Was captured by the Normans in April 1071, and Byzantine authority was finally terminated in Italy , five centuries after the conquests of Justinian I . In 1154-1156, through a plan hatched by Emperor Manuel I Komnenos , the Byzantines returned briefly to besiege Bari and were moderately successful in inciting a mass revolt which nearly toppled Norman control (potentially handing much of the former Katepanate back to

182-567: Was deemed militarily necessary after the final loss of nearby Sicily , a previously Byzantine possession, to the Arabs. Some Norman adventurers, on pilgrimage to Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano , lent their swords in 1017 to the Lombard cities of Apulia against the Byzantines. From 1016 to 1030 the Normans were pure mercenaries, serving either Byzantine or Lombard, and then Duke Sergius IV of Naples , by installing their leader Ranulf Drengot in

196-563: Was suppressed and its territory merged into the Diocese of Lucera . The name Fiorentino (Florentinensis) has been used, since 1969 as a Latin Catholic titular bishopric . Catepan of Italy The Catepanate (or Catapanate ) of Italy ( Greek : κατεπανίκιον Ἰταλίας , Katepaníkion Italías ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 965 until 1071. At its greatest extent, it comprised mainland Italy south of

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