Francavilla Fontana

Francavilla Fontana
Francavilla Fontana
Comune
	Comune di Francavilla Fontana
	View of the "Umberto I" square
	Francavilla within the Province of Brindisi
	Location of Francavilla Fontana
	Francavilla Fontana Location of Francavilla Fontana in Italy Francavilla Fontana Francavilla Fontana (Apulia)
	Coordinates: 40°32′N 17°35′E / 40.533°N 17.583°E
Country	Italy
Region	Apulia
Province	Brindisi (BR)
Frazioni	Bax Capece
Government
• Mayor	Antonello Denuzzo
Area
• Total	175 km2 (68 sq mi)
Elevation	142 m (466 ft)
Population (31 December 2017)
• Total	36,358
• Density	210/km2 (540/sq mi)
Demonym	Francavillesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	72021
Dialing code	0831
Patron saint	Madonna della Fontana
Saint day	September 14
Website	Official website

Francavilla Fontana (Francavillese: Francaìdda [fɾaŋkaˈiɖɖa]) is a town and comune (municipality) in the province of Brindisi and region of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is also called the town of the "Imperiali", after the Imperiali, a family of feudal lords who ruled the town from the end of 16th century until the 18th century. With a population of 36,358, in 2017,^[2]^[3] it is the third municipality of its province after Brindisi and Fasano. Its one of the many towns in south Italy where the Greek dialect Griko is spoken.

History

The name Francavilla has French-Norman origins: "Franca" (tax-free) and "villa" (town). The specification Fontana ("fountain") alludes to a vision of the Virgin Mary witnessed by Prince Filippo d'Angiò, who hence declaring the town a tax-free haven, according to the local legend.

Geography

Francavilla is located in the Altosalento, on the last Murge's hills, and it is equidistant, about 35 kilometres (22 mi), from Taranto and Brindisi. The municipality borders with Ceglie Messapica, Grottaglie, Latiano, Manduria, Oria, San Marzano di San Giuseppe, San Michele Salentino, San Vito dei Normanni, Sava and Villa Castelli.^[4]

Main sights

The massive square Castle (Palazzo Imperiali) of the Imperiali family, to whom, with Oria, it was sold by St. Charles Borromeo in the 16th century for 40,000 ounces of gold, which he distributed in one day to poor and plague-infected people in Milan.^[5]
Mother Church, built from 1743 over a former Angevine construction.
Torre dell'Orologio (watchtower), built in 1750.

Transport

The town, 18 km east of Taranto-Grottaglie Airport, is served by the SS7 "Appia" highway. The local railway station is a junction point between the lines Taranto–Brindisi, owned by the national company FS, and Martina–Lecce, owned by FSE. It is served by regional and, on the Taranto-Brindisi line, by long-distance trains also.

Sport

The local football club is the Virtus Francavilla, that has its home ground in John Paul II Stadium.

People

Ottaviano Andriani (b. 1974), marathon runner
Cosimo Caliandro (1982–2011), middle-distance runner
Clementina Forleo (b. 1963), judge
Giuseppe Renato Imperiali (1651–1737), cardinal
Michele Imperiali Simeana (1736–1782), prince
Giacomo Leone (b. 1971), long-distance runner
Francesco Ribezzo (b. 8 May 1875, died Lecce, 19 October 1952), glottologist - the science of tongues or languages; comparative philology, particularly the dialect of F. Fontana

Twin towns

San Giovanni al Natisone, Italy

References

^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b (in Italian) Source Archived 2017-06-26 at the Wayback Machine: ISTAT 2016
^ ^a ^b (in Italian) Population statistics of Francavilla Fontana (tuttaitalia.it). Data from ISTAT
^ 40522 (x a j h) Francavilla Fontana on OpenStreetMap
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Francavilla Fontana". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 775.

External links

(in Italian) Official website
"Francavilla Fontana". Brindisi Virtual Tour (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2008.