FRANCAVILLA FONTANA (br) stands at the center of the Terra d'Otranto. It emerges among expanses of olive trees interspersed with more than seventy masserias, numerous trulli and dry stone walls.
The origins of the city are lost in the meanders of history. Numerous testimonies attest to the presence of human settlements since the Neolithic, but the protagonists of the deepest past were the Messapi. One suggestion has it that Francavilla rose on the ashes of the Roman Rudiae, home of the poet Quintus Ennius.
Popular tradition, on the other hand, traces the foundation to a miraculous event that took place on September 14, 1310: during a hunting trip by Prince Philip of Anjou, one of his men shot an arrow to hit a doe that was drinking at a spring, but the dart came back. An image of the Madonna and Child, the "Madonna of the Fountain," was found at the site and assumed to be the patroness of the City, for which the prince had a church erected.
In 1575 Francavilla was bought by the Imperiali family, of Genoese origin, which ruled for eight generations until 1782.
The Imperiali Castle since 1450 has witnessed the town's history. Here are the ancient frescoes of the chapel of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the beautiful Sala del Camino, and many other treasures. Francavilla Fontana is a town rich in history, art and culture.
Its seventeenth-century palaces, Baroque churches, large city gates, alleys and small squares in the historic center are elements that characterize the town's village. Here, among evocative palaces and loggias, you can breathe in the scent of "ricci" sugared almonds composed of toasted almonds and the very tasty poor sweet "la copeta."
In the oldest heart of the historic center, it is possible to admire the Basilica Pontificia Minore Maria Santissima del Rosario, with the highest dome in Salento, the Church of Santa Chiara, which houses the Statues of the Mysteries, and the Church of the Liguorini Fathers, known as the Golden Church. One of the most important moments of city life is the Rites of Holy Week.
From Holy Wednesday to Good Friday, the most intense and participatory days are concentrated: on Wednesday with the dishes carried around by children who have been repeating "Cce ti piace lu piattu mia?" for centuries, on Thursday with the ancient pilgrimage of the Pappamusci, and on Friday with the moving procession of the Mysteries followed by the "Pappamusci cu li trai," who drag very heavy crosses as a sign of devotion.
THE FEAST
Every year between September 13 and 15, the community celebrates Our Lady of the Fountain with impressive civil and religious festivities. Luminaries decorate the town's streets with lace of light, bands take turns on the cassarmonica, and in the center it is a riot of sweets and traditional games.
Luminaria, bands and fireworks are a great classic of every patronal festival. In Francavilla Fontana the illuminations are those of the Memmola family, and this is the home of the Grand Concert Band "City of Francavilla Fontana," for generations the glory and pride of the entire community. Over time, the activity of the family of stokers and that of the family of the apparators who, with long ladders and miles of damask, sumptuously decorated the inside of the churches with festivity.
Since 2018, at the initiative of the Patronal Feast Committee, the official opening of the festivities is marked by traditional games among the streets of the historic center and the Great Tug of War on Via Roma with more than 700 participants, as many as the number of years of the city, founded in 1310; the lighting of the illuminations takes place from the cassarmonica, in the presence of a Francavillan who has particularly distinguished himself during the year. September 14 is the day of the big celebration, the "Festa Noscia," as the Francavillese use to say.
The feast day is heralded by a diana of dark blasts, and small bands circle the streets of the neighborhoods, which also stop in front of the civil hospital to greet the sick and the medical personnel on duty. Masses are celebrated every hour in the basilica; at 10:30 a.m. there is a pontifical mass presided over by the bishop of Oria, while in the cassharmonic the Banda Musicale holds the morning concert.
At noon, families gather around the set table; many consume the roast chicken and sauce, lu jadduzzu. It is precisely the free-range cockerel that was chosen by the committee as the mascot of the civil festivities, assigning him the nickname Turicchio. In the evening, from 7 p.m., there is a procession with the wooden bust of Our Lady of the Fountain, attended by clergy and confraternities, followed by civil and military authorities.
The procession is preceded by the handing over of the keys by the mayor, while the people greet the passage of the procession with the launching of balloons. The Band performs the evening concert, offering its musical program and presenting an unreleased.
The fireworks display closes this long awaited day. September 15 is the day of the concert with a nationally renowned artist. The days of the festival are enriched with various cultural, sports and solidarity activities: art exhibitions, memorial, tournaments, book presentations, theatrical performances. L
Pro Loco holds the orecchiette festival on the Sunday before Sept. 14, organizes an art exhibition and celebrates the feast day with a special philatelic cancellation by the Italian Postal Service and the publication of a souvenir postcard.
Don't miss: Matrix Church, Church of the Liguorini Fathers, Church of St. Clare, Church of St. Sebastian, Church of the Carmine, Argentina Palace, Castle, Church of the Immaculate Conception, Church of the Holy Spirit, Giannuzzi-Bottari-Carissimo Palace.
Photo by: Sandro Rodia. Giovanni Colonna, Alessia Sardello, Alessio Tomaselli
Text by: Vincenzo Sardiello, Giovanni Colonna
