Diocese of Lucera–Troia
diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy
The Diocese of Lucera-Troia (Latin: Dioecesis Lucerina-Troiana), sometimes called Nocera, is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Apulia, in southern Italy, with its episcopal seat at Lucera Cathedral. The diocese reached its present configuration in 1986, by combining the older diocese of Lucera with the diocese of Troia, the seat of which was Troia Cathedral, now a co-cathedral of the united diocese.
Ecclesiastical history
Lucera
Local tradition traces the origin of the bishopric of Lucera to the third century and Saint Bassus. Two other imaginary bishops, Johannes and Marcus, first appear in a martyrology written in the 11th or 12th century, whose authority is usually rejected.
Pope Gelasius I (492–496) wrote to two local bishops, complaining about the attack on the Monastery in Fundo Luciano in the territory of the diocese of Lucera led by two priests of the diocese of Lucera, and orders the bishops to advise the (unnamed) bishop of Lucera to go to the monastery to ensure that attacks against the clergy should not take place.
The city of Lucera was destroyed in 663, on orders of the Emperor Constans II during a campaign against the Lombards, but the city quickly recovered and was a Lombard stronghold.
The first historically certain named bishop is Marcus, who attended the Roman council of Pope Zacharias in 743.
Lucera fell under Byzantine control in 983.
The Muslim colony in Lucera
It was in the 1220s, under Bishop Bartolomaeus, that Frederick II began the settlement of Sicilian Saracens at Lucera. In 1234, the community was granted the right to hold a fair by Frederick.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Diocese of Lucera–Troia” is diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Diocese, Lucera and Troia, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q871439. VIAF identifies the subject as 159323445. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1986 and 1234.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Diocese of Lucera–Troia”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Diocese of Lucera–Troia primary sources, Diocese of Lucera–Troia archive and Diocese research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Diocese of Lucera–Troia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.