The diocese of Ruvo was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Apulia, southern Italy, which existed until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi. From 1818 to 1982, it was united with the diocese of Bitonto, as the diocese of Ruvo and Bitonto.
Ruvo di Puglia has a late Apulian Romanesque cathedral dating to the 11th-12th centuries. Outside of the city are the ruins of a more ancient cathedral, possibly of the late fourth or early fifth century.
According to legend St. Peter appointed to the see as its first bishop Cletus, later pope. We read also of a St. Procopius, Bishop of Ruvo, of unknown date; Bishop Joannes, spoken of in 493, is the first prelate of the city known with certainty.
Others were:
Bishop Anderano (about 734) belonged either to Bitonto or the diocese of Bisignano;
Arnolfo (1087) was the first undoubted Bishop of Bitonto;
Enrico Minutoli (1382), later cardinal
Cornelio Musso (1544), a Conventual
Fabrizio Carafa (1622), founder of a literary academy;
Alessandro Crescenti (1652), later cardinal.
In 1818 the Diocese of Ruvo, which comprised only the commune of Ruvo, was united æque principaliter to the See of Bitonto, which included only the commune of Bitonto.
Latin Name: Rubensis
Erected: 6th Century
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Bari (-Canosa)
Giulio de Mirto (1512 - 1520 Resigned)
Giovanni Francesco de Mirto (19 Mar 1520 - 1578 Resigned)
Orazio de Mirto (9 Apr 1578 - 1589 Resigned)
Gaspare Pasquali, O.F.M. Conv. (3 Jul 1589 - 31 May 1604 Appointed, Bishop of Rieti)
Giuseppe Saluzzo (13 Sep 1604 - 29 Dec 1620 Died)
Cristoforo Memmolo, C.R. (29 Mar 1621 - May 1646 Died)
Marco Romano (bishop) (Cristalli), C.R. (19 Nov 1646 - Sep 1649 Died)
Ferdinando Apicello (2 May 1650 - 28 Aug 1656 Appointed, Bishop of Larino)
Giovanni Battista Volpi (16 Oct 1656 - 1663 Died)
Gabriele Tontoli (24 Sep 1663 - Nov 1665 Died)
Giuseppe Caro (11 Jan 1666 - Sep 1671 Died)
Sebastiano d'Alessandro, O. Carm. (15 Jan 1672 - 29 Dec 1672 Died)
Domenico Sorrentino (bishop) (13 Mar 1673 - 27 Apr 1676 Appointed, Bishop of Vulturara e Montecorvino)
Domenico Gallesi (22 Jun 1676 - Nov 1679 Died)
Giovan Donato Giannoni Alitto (11 Mar 1680 - 1698 Died)
Francesco Morgioni (19 Dec 1698 - 18 May 1705 Appointed, Bishop of Minori)
Bartolomeo Gambadoro (14 Dec 1705 - Aug 1730 Died)
Giulio de Turris (12 Feb 1731 - 24 Jun 1759 Died)
Pietrangelo Ruggieri (24 Sep 1759 - 14 Feb 1807 Died)
Vincenzo Maria Manieri, O.F.M. Conv. (29 Mar 1819 - 1833 Died)
Niccola Marone (15 Feb 1838 - 18 Jun 1853 Resigned)
Latin Name: Rubensis et Bituntinus
United: 27 June 1818 with the Diocese of Bitonto
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Bari (-Canosa)
Vincenzo Materozzi (12 Sep 1853 - 8 Jul 1884 Died)
Luigi Bruno (8 Jul 1884 Succeeded- 10 Jan 1893 Died)
Tommaso de Stefano (Stefani) (19 Jan 1893 - 24 Mar 1898 Appointed, Archbishop of Trani e Barletta (e Nazareth e Bisceglie))
Pasquale Berardi (24 Mar 1898 - 21 Apr 1921 Appointed, Archbishop of Gaeta)
Placido Ferniani (7 Apr 1922 - 22 May 1925 Died)
Domenico del Buono (24 Jul 1925 - 16 Jan 1929 Died)
Andrea Taccone (27 Aug 1929 - 30 Apr 1949 Resigned)
Aurelio Marena (16 Mar 1950 - 21 Nov 1978 Retired)
Antonio Bello (30 Sep 1982 - 30 Sep 1986 Appointed, Bishop of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi)
30 September 1986: United with and suppressed to the Diocese of Molfetta-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi
