The Casa dei Cavalieri di Malta (Italian for House of the Knights of Malta) is a historic building in the old town of Bitetto, in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Italy. The building is traditionally associated with the Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Knights of Malta. History Attribution to the Knights of Malta Very little is known about the building, and its relation to the Knights Hospitaller is derived from popular tradition. Some authors state that the house gave shelter to knights during the Crusades, while on their journey to the Holy Land. However, the building is believed to have been constructed in the late Middle Ages, possibly around the 14th century, judging from its style including its mullioned windows, which seem to be contemporary to the last reconstruction of the . The first inhabitants of the building are unknown, and there is no indication of its original use. Research carried out at the State Archives of Naples found no trace of members of the Knights Hospitaller from Bitetto. Another search in Barletta, seat of the Priory of Apulia, whose documents were transferred to the State Archives of Bari, was unsuccessful since the papers are believed to have been destroyed in a fire. However, it has been found that the family wore the habit of the Order in 1381, and Giovanni della Marra had been feudal lord of Bitetto from 1305 until his death in 1311. The Segreteria della Commenda di Malta in Rome also stated that their files do not make any reference to any buildings in Bitetto. The same is true of an act dated 26 November 1471 by the notary Nicola Guglielmo of Naples, in which Bernardo Garano di Riccaseus was entrusted with the Hospitaller commandery in Apulia, which included Bitetto. The document mentioned various holdings and assets, but none in Bitetto. Perhaps irrefutable proof to the fact that in the past no one talked about this building is the fact that the emblem of the Commenda di Malta, which depicts a rampant griffin, is completely absent in the complex. Known owners and inhabitants Ottavio de Nicolò On the building's façade there is a coat of arms which is divided into two: the right depicting a castle with two towers on the sea (identical to another emblem found at the courtyard of the Bitonto Cathedral), and the left depicting a bearded face and a lily. The