Torremaggiore
Torremaggiore is a town, comune and former seat of a bishopric, in the province of Foggia in the Apulia, region of southeast Italy.
It lies on a hill, over the sea, and is famous for production of wine and olives.
History
The history of Torremaggiore is strictly connected to that of the burg of Fiorentino , a Byzantine frontier stronghold founded by the Italian catepan Basil Boioannes in 1018.- Later a Norman, Hohenstaufen, Angevine and finally Aragonese possession, it is especially remembered as the death place of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II on 13 December 1250.
- Five years later the burg was attacked by Pope Alexander IV's troops, and the inhabitants fled to a nearby Benedictine abbey. Later they were allowed to found a new settlement, called Codacchio, later, when other refugees from Dragonara arrived, christened Terra Maioris, the modern Torremaggiore. This burg was later a fief of the Counts of Sangro. It was destroyed by an earthquake on July 30, 1627.
- On 17 March 1862 a platoon of newly united Italy's royal troops was defeated by the brigands of Carmine Crocco; 21 soldiers were killed, even their captain Francesco Richard.
- From 25 August 1925, Torremaggiore was connected to the nearby San Severo by a tramway, the first in southern Italy.
Ecclesiastical history
Main sights
- Castle of Fiorentino, place of death of Emperor Frederick II.
- Castle of Dragonara.
- The Castle of the Dukes of Sangro, built from a Norman tower, has maintained the Renaissance appearance. It includes four circular and two square towers, and a throne hall with a 17th-century fresco frieze. It is home to the archaeological exhibition of findings from Fiorentino.
- Chiesa matrice di San Nicola, built by the refugees from Fiorentino and Dragonara, rebuilt in 1631 after the earthquake.
- Church of Santa Maria della Strada.
- Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Fontana.
- Church of the Madonna di Loreto, erected by Albanian immigrants. It was rebuilt in 1627.
- Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.
People
- Rogerius of Apulia, medieval Catholic monk and chronicler
- Luigi Rossi, musician
- Raimondo di Sangro, prince and scientist
- Nicola Fiani, patriot and radical, executed after the collapse of the Parthenopean Republic
- Fortune Gallo, opera impresario
- Nicola Sacco, anarchist, executed with Bartolomeo Vanzetti following a controversial American trial
- Giuseppe Eccellente , violinist, Terremaggiore
- Edoardo Santini, model and seminarian
Twinned cities
- Buffalo, United States
- Canosa di Puglia, Italy
- Villafalletto, Italy