Altahira, a town of S. Italy, capital of a district of the same name, in the province of Terra di Bari, 28 m. S. W. of Bari; pop. about 18,000. It is walled and beautifully situated in a fertile pastoral country. Neighboring remains are supposed to mark the site of Lu-patia. a town of Apulia on the Appian way. The modern town was settled in the 13th century by colonists from Greece, and many of the present inhabitants are of Albanian origin and still wear the Albanian costume. The emperor Frederick II. endowed the town with a magnificent cathedral, and it also contains a college, a hospital, an episcopal palace, and other fine buildings. There are two annual fairs, and the principal products of the vicinity are wine and olives.