Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

'' in the

province of Taranto The province of Taranto (; Tarantino: ; Salentino: ), previously known as the province of the Ionian, is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Taranto. It has an area of , and a total population of 581,092 (2017). ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is the second most populated town of the province after

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, the town has hosted the annual summer

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

festival, the

Festival della Valle d'Itria The Festival della Valle d'Itria is a summer opera festival held in the south eastern Italian town of Martina Franca in the Apulia region. The Festival was founded in 1975 and performances are given in July and August each summer on a specially ...

.''Festival della Valle d'Itria'' Official Website

History

Geography

Located in the

Itria Valley Itria Valley (in Italian: ''Valle d'Itria'') is an area located in Apulia region, in Southern Italy. Itria Valley spreads over Province of Bari, Province of Brindisi and Province of Taranto, and coincide with the lower part of Murgia upland (Lo ...

, close to the provinces of

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

and

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

, Martina Franca borders with the municipalities of

Alberobello Alberobello (; literally "beautiful tree"; Bari dialect, Barese: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. It has 10,237 inhabitants (2022) and is famous for its unique ''trullo'' buildings. The ...

( BA),

Ceglie Messapica Ceglie Messapica (; ) is a town, and ''comune'', located in the province of Brindisi and region of Apulia, in southern Italy, in the traditional area called Salento. Geography The area of Ceglie Messapica is located between the Murge and the Up ...

( BR),

Cisternino Cisternino is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the coast of south-eastern Italy, approximately north-west of the city of Brindisi. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Its main ...

(BR),

Crispiano Crispiano (Local dialect, Crispianese: ) is a town in the province of Taranto in Apulia. The town has a population of 13749 inhabitants. It is located in the heart of Apulia, near Valle d’Itria, just 15 km from Taranto. (ancient farms). Cr ...

Massafra Massafra is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. History According to some hypotheses,Giuseppe Blandamura, ''Choerades Insulae'', Taranto, Tipografia Arcivescovile, 1925. Massafra was founded in ...

Mottola Mottola (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto and region of Apulia in southeast Italy. It stands on a hill above mean sea level in the sub-region of Altopiano delle Murge, Murgia. It is also called "The Ionian Spy" for its ...

Locorotondo Locorotondo ( Barese: ) is a town and municipality of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, with a population of about 14,000. It is situated between Martina Franca and Alberobello in the Valle d'Itria, a green stretch of country ...

(BA),

Ostuni Ostuni (; ) is a city and ''comune'', located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32,000 during the winter, but can swell to 200,000 inhabitants during summer, ...

(BR),

Villa Castelli Villa Castelli is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the south-east Italy coast. It is a comune in Salento, the borderline with Itria Valley. Its main economic activities are tourism and the growing of olives and grapes. Main ...

(BR),

Grottaglie Grottaglie (; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Taranto, Apulia, in southern Italy. Geography Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, dividing the Adriatic Sea from Ionian Sea. The countryside around the city is scatter ...

and Noci (BA). It counts the hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'') 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

is held annually in July/August. It presents a variety of rather unusual operas.

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", 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.

Gastronomy

Martina Franca DOC

The comune of Martina Franca produces a white ''

Denominazione di origine controllata The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

'' (DOC)

Italian wine Italian wine () is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, as well as the List of wine-producing regions#Countries, world's ...

that can be made in a still or sparkling ''Spumante'' style. The wine has a tendency not to age well, often turning from a light white color to a darker amber color and losing its fresh fruit flavors after only 3 to 4 years in the bottle. All grapes destined for DOC wine production needing to be harvested to a yield no greater than 13

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

/ha. The wine is made predominantly (50-65%) from

Verdeca Verdeca is a white Italian wine grape variety that is primarily grown in Apulia in southern Italy where ampelographers believe that the grape may have originated. In Apulia, it is one of the main grapes in the ''Denominazione di origine controll ...

and

Bianco d'Alessano ''Bianco d'Alessano'' is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown in the Apulia region of southern Italy, where it is often blended with Verdeca. In the early 21st century, the grape was planted in the South Australian wine region of Riverl ...

which can make between 45-40% of the blend. Additional grapes are permitted up to a maximum of 5% including

Bombino bianco Bombino bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety planted primarily along Italy's Adriatic coast line, most notably in Apulia. The vine is prone to high yields and often produces neutral flavor wines.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Co ...

, Fiano and Malvasia Toscana. The finished wine must attain a minimum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

of 11% in order to be labelled with the Martina Franca DOC designation.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pg 174 Firefly Books 2004 Martina Franca is known also for his

capocollo ''Capocollo'' () (in Italian). or ''coppa'' () (in Italian). is an Italian and French pork '' salume'' made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the fourth or fifth rib of the pork shoulder or neck. It is a whole-muscle ''salum ...

and for ''Bombette'' (Pork neck rolls stuffed with Canestrato, salt and pepper)

Sports

The town's football team is the A.S. Martina Franca 1947, which are currently plays in

Lega Pro The Lega Italiano Calcio Professionistico (Italian for Professional Football Italian League), commonly known as Lega Pro (Pro League), is the governing body that runs the third tier of professional football competitions in Italy, the Serie C. I ...

. Its home ground is the Gian Domenico Tursi Stadium. The Formula One driver

Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari. Giovinazzi competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Giovinazzi won the 24 Hour ...

was born in Martina Franca. The local futsal club is the

LCF Martina LC Five Martina is a futsal club based in Martina Franca, Apulia, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula tha ...

. It was founded in 2009 and its home ground is the PalaWojtyla.

Transport

Martina Franca railway station Martina Franca is a railway station in Martina Franca, Italy. The station is located on the Bari–Martina Franca–Taranto railway and Martina Franca–Lecce railway. The train services and the railway infrastructure are operated by Ferrovie de ...

is an important junction point between the lines Bari–Martina–Taranto and Martina–Lecce, both operated by the

Ferrovie del Sud Est Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE) is a railway company in Apulia region, Italy. The company operates in the ''comuni'' south of Lecce and in the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Taranto. The company also operates bus lines. In August 2016 its network was ...

(FSE). A minor station on the line to Taranto, Martina Franca Colonne Grassi, is located in the southwestern suburb. Another minor stop, San Paolo, serves the homonym ''frazione''.

References in popular culture

In the novel ''Artemis Fowl'' by

Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer (; born 14 May 1965) is an Irish author of children's books. He worked as a primary school teacher before he became a full-time writer. He is best known for being the author of the ''Artemis Fowl'' series. In September 2008, Colf ...

, Martina Franca is the setting of a troll attack.

Personalities

* Giuseppe Aprile (1732–1813), composer and

castrato A castrato (Italian; : castrati) is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice can also occur in one who, due to an endocrino ...

* 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 *

(born 1993), racing driver for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

AF Corse AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. Strongly linked to the Maserati and Ferrari brands, AF Corse currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Chal ...

* Paolo Grassi (Milan, 1919 –

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1981), founder of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and director of the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

* Cosimo Damiano Lanza ( Leporano, 1962), pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Director of the Accademia Musicale Mediterranea in Martina Franca. * Renzo Rubino (born 1988,

), singer-songwriter, raised by parents of Martina Franca * Aldo Semerari (1923–1982), criminologist and suspected

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology which includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, ultraconservatism, racial supremacy, right-wing populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xe ...

terrorist, who was born in Martina Franca * Richard Sinclair (born 1948,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

), English progressive rock musician, who lives in the countryside of Martina *

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...

(

Castellaneta Castellaneta ( Tarantino: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of Southern Italy, about from Taranto. Located in a territory spanning from the Murgia to the Ionian Sea, characterized by numerous ''gravina'' ...

, 1895 –

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 1936), American actor. His father came from Martina Franca.

References

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

Official website

Website of the Festival della Valle d'Itria

Martina Franca
on

Flickr Flickr ( ) is an image hosting service, image and Online video platform, video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was previously a co ...

{{authority control Cities and towns in Apulia

History

Geography

Culture

Economy

Main sights

Gastronomy

Martina Franca DOC

Sports

Transport

References in popular culture

Personalities

See also

References

Sources

External links