The story concerning the origins of the church of Sant'Andrea is debated among various scholars, some of whom have affirmed that, where the building of Sant'Andrea stands today, there was a previous temple dedicated to San Pietro, placed under the one existing today. , which would explain the elevation of the church. In reality, the curiosity has no foundation and there are no historical finds or documentation that can support this conjecture. In reality it is possible to say with certainty that the nucleus of the current religious building was originally occupied at least in part by a small church dedicated to the Holy Savior and that the difference in altitude of five meters is due to the lowering of the road level desired in the Angevin age. , to allow easier access to the sea, since until then between the walls and the sea there was a cliff that could only be overcome by a series of ramps and stairways. For this reason the entire area of ​​Santa Maria is located at a higher altitude than that beyond the walls and the alleys orthogonal to the sea, access to the neighborhood go up through stairs or in a rather steep and unusual way for a flat city such as Barletta.

A fundamental element in the main façade is the monumental portal which sees the presence on each of the two sides of four small columns with capitals, which probably had to support an upper arch. The tympanum has a lunette and inside there are sculptures carved into the stone representing Christ in the center with the Virgin on the right and John the Baptist on the left, both with outstretched arms and turned towards the central figure of Jesus. tympanum there are instead two angels kneeling in profile facing the center of the scene. On the piers there are also other scenes from the Old and New Testament.