Foggia

The name of Foggia derives form the word Faves (a cistern in which foodstuffs were preserved) and this name has been in use since 1089.

The period of greatest splendor of the city was during the rule of Swabian Frederick II, who built a majestic Imperial Palace, thus confirming the city's importance as a strategic base in the centre of the Tavoliere of Puglia.

Foggia was frequently sacked and totally destroyed. In 1528 it was completely devastated by the French during the Franco-Spanish war and in 1731 was razed to the ground by an earthquake.

The Cathedral S. Maria Icona Vetere in Foggia is a fine example of Romanesque architecture with Baroque touches, although has undergone numerous alterations. It was founded by William II, "the Good", in 1162 but it was almost completely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1731. Inside the Cathedral, in the Dell'Icona Vetere Chapel, a Byzantime icon is preserved, which according to legend was discovered by shepherds in a mere over which danced three burning flames, now the symbol of the city.

Foggia is reach in Baroque architecture. To visit the Palazzo De Rosa and Palazzo Della Dogana and an unusual church known as Chiesa delle Croci.

The church of S. Giovanni Battista, built in 1626, is situated on the ancient Piazza del Piano della Croce, beneath which huge underground grain silos used to lie. A few metres away, one can see the Colonna della Croce, which gives its name to the Piazza.