Roman Catholic Diocese of Conversano-Monopoli

The Italian Catholic diocese of Conversano-Monopoli, in Puglia, has existed since 1986. In the year the diocese of Monopoli was united into the historic diocese of Conversano. The diocese is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto.

History

Conversano is the ancient Cupersanum. After the invasion of the Normans, it was for a while the seat of a duchy; later, however, it became a fief of the dukes of Atri. The first bishop whose date is certain was Hilarius, present at the Roman synod of 501. Local tradition, however, preserves the name of a previous bishop, Simplicius, who died in 492.

No other names are recorded up to the episcopate of Leo, mentioned in a document of 1088. Other bishops were:

• the Cistercian Stefano (c. 1266);
• Giovanni de Gropi (c. 1283);
• Antonio Guidotti (d. 1433);
• Paolo de Torcoli (d. 1482);
• Romolo de' Valenti (d. 1579);
• Giuseppe Palermo, appointed 1658;
• Andrea Brancaccia (1681).^[1]

Notes

1. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia article

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.