Francavilla Fontana is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the province of Brindisi

Province of Brindisi

The Province of Brindisi is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. Surrounded by vineyards and artichoke fields, Brindisi is a major sailing port for the southern part of Italy....

 (Puglia, southern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

). And it's also called "Imperiali Town" after the feudal lords that ruled the town from the end of 16th to 18th century.

Geography

Francavilla is located in the Altosalento, on the last Murge's hills, and it is equidistant (about 35 km) from Taranto

Taranto

Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....

 and Brindisi

Brindisi

Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...

.

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 a Prince, who hence declaring the town a tax-free haven, according to the local legend.

Main sights

• The massive square Castle (Palazzo Imperiali) of the Imperiali family
  Imperiali family
  The Imperiale - or Imperiali - family is a noble family from the Republic of Genoa. Previously named Tartaro, it was one of the most powerful families dominating the city's politics in the 18th century and owned a vast fiefdom.-External links:*...
  
  , to whom, with Oria, it was sold by S. Carlo Borromeo in the 16th century for 40,000 ounces of gold, which he distributed in one day to the poor.
• Mother Church, built from 1743 over a former Angevine
  House of Anjou
  The Angevins, also known as the House of Anjou, were a noble family founded in the early years of the Carolingian Empire. They first emerged as part of the minor feudal nobility, in what would soon be known as the Kingdom of France during the 10th century...
  
  construction.
• Torre dell'Orologio (watchtower), built in 1750.

External links

• Description of the town