Martina Franca
Martina Franca | |
---|---|
Città di Martina Franca | |
![]() Piazza Plebiscito and the Cathedral | |
![]() Martina within the Province of Taranto | |
UTC+2 (CEST) | |
Postal code | 74015 |
Dialing code | 080 |
Patron saint | San Martino |
Website | comune.martina-franca.ta.it |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Martina_Franca%2C_vista_da_Locorotondo_-_panoramio_%281%29.jpg/250px-Martina_Franca%2C_vista_da_Locorotondo_-_panoramio_%281%29.jpg)
Martina Franca, or just Martina (
History
Geography
Located in the Itria Valley, close to the provinces of Bari and Brindisi, Martina Franca borders with the municipalities of Alberobello (BA), Ceglie Messapica (BR), Cisternino (BR), Crispiano, Massafra, Mottola, Locorotondo (BA), Ostuni (BR), Villa Castelli (BR), Grottaglie and Noci (BA).[6] It counts the hamlets (frazioni) of Baratta, Capitolo, Cappuccini, Carpari, Gemma, Infarinata, Lamia Vecchia, Madonna dell'Arco, Monte Fellone, Monte Ilario, Montetulio, Monti del Duca, Motolese, Nigri, Ortolini, Papadomenico, Pergolo, Pianelle, San Paolo, and Specchia Tarantina.
Culture
The opera Festival della Valle d'Itria is held annually in July/August. It presents a variety of rather unusual operas.[5]
Economy
Agriculture is concentrated in the fertile lands in small valleys. The Viticulture is mainly based on white grape wine. There are also many olive trees growing, in fact olive oil is also one of the main product of the area. The most common livestocks are sheep and goats, to which is added the breeding of thoroughbred "murgese" horses and the famous donkey of Martina Franca. The most developed industry is the textile manufacturing, that made Martina famous also in the movie industry for a big international film in the 80's. The services sector is characterized by banks, insurances and tourism, especially eno-gastronomic one. It is very common for tourists to visit oil mills, wine-making facilities and cellars to taste amazing local products. One of the most important culinary excellence is the "Capocollo Di Martina Franca",[7] a DOP quality product.
Main sights
The town has a particularly conserved old town surrounded by stone walls with prominent Baroque gates leading to piazzas and narrow, winding streets. Piazza Roma is the largest square in the old town, with a green space in the centre of a largely triangular grass pattern, facing the 17th-century Palazzo Ducale.[8]
Gastronomy
Martina Franca DOC
The comune of Martina Franca produces a white
Sports
The town's football team is the
The local futsal club is the LCF Martina. It was founded in 2009 and its home ground is the PalaWojtyla.
Transport
Martina Franca railway station[10] in an important junction point between the lines Bari–Martina–Taranto and Martina–Lecce, both operated by the Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE). A minor station on the line to Taranto, Martina Franca Colonne Grassi,[11] is located in the southwestern suburb. Another minor stop, San Paolo,[12] serves the homonym frazione.
References in popular culture
In the novel Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, Martina Franca is the setting of a troll attack.
Personalities
- Giuseppe Aprile (1732–1813), composer and castrato
- Pietro Carbotti, Venerable
- Domenico Carella (1721–1813), painter
- Donato Carrisi (born 1973), thriller writer
- Gioconda de Vito (1907–1994), violinist
- Matteo Fischetti (1830–1887), pianist and composer
- Antonio Giovinazzi (born 1993), racing driver for Ferrari AF Corse
- Teatro alla Scala
- Cosimo Damiano Lanza (Leporano, 1962), pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Director of the Accademia Musicale Mediterranea in Martina Franca.
- Renzo Rubino (born 1988, Taranto), singer-songwriter, raised by parents of Martina Franca
- neo-fascistterrorist, who was born in Martina Franca
- Richard Sinclair (born 1948, Canterbury), English progressive rock musician, who lives in the countryside of Martina
- Rudolph Valentino (Castellaneta, 1895 – New York City, 1936), American actor. His father came from Martina Franca.
See also
- Ghironda Festival, established in 1995
- Itria Valley
References
- ^ Martina Franca Official Website
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Istat2016
- ^ List of municipalities in Taranto Province (Apulia Region) ordered by population
- ^ a b (in Italian) Festival della Valle d'Itria Official Website Archived 2017-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 40610 Martina Franca on OpenStreetMap
- ^ (in Italian) Capocollo di Martina Franca Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (fondazioneslowfood.com)
- ^ Martina Franca | Italy | Encyclopædia Britannica
- ISBN 1-55297-720-X
- ^ 1768769698 Martina Franca railway station on OpenStreetMap
- ^ 1770045597 Martina Franca Colonne Grassi railway station on OpenStreetMap
- ^ 1384593442 San Paolo railway station on OpenStreetMap
Sources
- Jewish Virtual Library
- C. Colafemmina, Gli ebrei a Taranto (2005)
- N. Ferorelli, Gli Ebrei nell’Italia meridionale, dall’età romana al secolo XVIII
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website (in Italian)
- Website of the Festival della Valle d'Itria (in Italian)
- Martina Franca on Flickr