Gastronomia tipica di Francavilla Fontana (BR)

This is the place we love Would you like to know it?

Come and enjoy...Francavilla Fontana

On 14th September 1310 the Prince of Taranto Filippo dAngi found the sacred image of Our Lady near a stream and wanted to build a Church with the promise that he would not impose any taxes to those who established nearby. Hence the origin of the name Franc Ville, that is to say free town. Then the word Fontana (fountain) was added to recall the place where the image was found. Lets look back to our past

This year Francavilla Fontana celebrates its birthday: 700 years of historyHAPPY BIRTHDAY 4

Let us introduce Bilotta-Marone

HERE WE ARE:the Comenius TeamsThe birth of our school Bilotta is due to the generosity of Andrea Imperiali, who gave 2000 ducats in order to host in Francavilla the Piarist fathers who had to take care of the religious education of the young seminarists from 8 to 13. The fame of the school was so popular that in 1841 Ferdinando I di Borbone named the school Royal College.In 1940 the College became Middle School Vitaliano Bilotta.In 2000 the two middle schools in Francavilla Fontana were united and became our school Bilotta- Marone.

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LETS GO SIGHTSEEING

7Imperialicastle

The castle was built in1450 by Dal Balzo-Orsini noble family and later transformed into Palace by Michele Imperiali. It has three floors and is surrounded by a moat. On the beautiful faade in oriental style there is a balcony richly decorated with baroque elements. It has been the Town Hall since 1821.

Our town is also rich of fine artistic buildings both religious and civil dating different centuries. Among them the most attractive of all is the Imperiali Castle.8Sedile Palace This building dates bak to 1700. It has two floors. On its faade there is a large balcony beautifully decorated with shells in the typical stone of Lecce. These shells have three symbols: in the centre the emblem of the Imperiali family, on the right the town s one and on the left the unreadable emblem of the Spanish reign.

Argentina-Leo PalaceThis Palace is located in the historic town centre of Francavilla. It has an inner court with a big arch sustained by columns. Above the arch there is a balustrade dating back to 1400 with nine corbels. It has pictures of animals and other objects sculptured in carparo that is a typical stone of southern Puglia.

Mother church The present building was built after the earthquake in 1743 that seriously damaged the church built in 1320 after the founding of Our Ladys picture. The church has a faade in baroque style where you can see a big window and St. Peters and St. Pauls statues on both sides.

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You can get into the church by three doors: a bigger and central one and two smaller and lateral ones. The dome is the highest one in Salento and it is covered with multicoloured tiles of majolica. It has a Greek cross structure inside.The Liguorini Fathers Church

Dedicated to St. Alfonso de Liguori this church was wanted by Filippo dAngi in 1322. In 1854 the Liguorini Fathers rebuilt the church but they did not succeed in finishing the works because they left Francavilla in 1861.

The church works were completed when the Fathers came back to Francavilla. On the faade you can notice Renaissance elements. It is a church with a nave and two side aisles with a Latin cross structure. It is very rich of stucco works and golden ornaments, that is why it is known as the golden church.The Church of the Cross The earliest building dates back to 1573 when Antonio di Roncis wanted to build a church on the place of an old chapel keeping a picture of Our Lady of the Cross. Now the church has a naive and two side aisles with a Latin cross structure. On its faade you can see baroque elements and a bell tower in the same style. Inside the church there are lots of wooden sculptures.

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LETS HAVE A LOOK TO OUR RITES AND TRADITIONS

In Francavilla Fontana the Holy Week, and the Saint Patrons Day are the most popular events of the year. Tourists, coming from many different countries, visit the town just to be involved in the magic atmosphere created by the famous rites which keep alive a very old tradition.Quaremma is the Carnival widow, an old doll in black, who hangs on the buildings walls, the night before Ash Wednesday. Quaremma stands for the Lent, (the period of penance that goes from Shrove Tuesday to the Good Friday), that is the reason why she is so old and ugly.

QUAREMMA

On Holy Thursday the traditional piatti(plates), are ornamental trophies to put on the Saint Sepulchre. The plates are decorated with flowers and green wheat plants and children go door to door to receive an offer.Children with their plates full of.On Holy Thursday the pappamusci, begin the devotion to the seven churches, where Jesus lies. The pappamusci are couples of Brothers, who all the night long till Good Friday go along the town very slowly and barefoot, as a penance. The pilgrims wear large white tunics, hats and cowls with two holes to let them see.

The pappamusciParticularly interesting is the so called Mysteries procession.The pappamusci, as a penance for their sins, follow the the statue of Jesus Christ beneath the Cross on Good Friday. They carry heavy crosses like the one Jesus carried on the way to his death. The slow procession of these men, whose identities are unknown because of the clothes they wear, gives this event a rare atmosphere of magic.

The MysteriesOn the 14 thSeptember, Francavilla Fontana celebrates the Saint Patrons Day in Fountain Madonnas honour. A big procession starts from Mother Church and goes along the town.All the clergy, the confraternities, the other religious associations and the local authorities take part to the procession.The bells ring welcomes the procession coming back to the Mother Church:baloons are thrown, the local street orchestra plays and spectacular fireworks close the celebration.

Saint Patrons dayWould you like some..? Recipes from Francavilla FontanaClass 1l School Year 2010-2011Here you can see some of the various delicious typical disheswe use to cook, whose tradition is very very old .

Cranu shtumpatuPolished and boiled wheat flavoured with meat sauce and peorino cheese or with tomato and cacio ricotta cheese

Tarallini made of flour dough and oil with black pepper orfennel seeds

Friseddi cu lu pepi o cu lu finucchiuFai e fogghiMashed dried broad bean served with boiled vegetables (chicory,and taraxacum) or with onions salad, or with fried or grilled pepper and, in Summer time, with grapes.

Snails, usually served in winter time, grilled or cooked with tomato and garlic.

Cozzi mateddiRicchiteddi e pizzicarieddiFine bran handmade orecchiette and maccheroni pasta served with meat and tomato sauce and pecorino cheese or with fresh tomatoes and cacio ricotta cheese

or with turnip tops and red hot chili pepperPashta cu la muddica fritta(a typical Lent dish) pasta with tomato sauce and breadcrumbs fried in olive oil with salty anchovy.

Lamb head divided in two, flavoured with cheese, black pepper, olive oil, baked in the oven and then served with potatoes.

CapuzzellaPurpetti e brascioli Meatballs, meat rolls,usually horsemeat, are the basis of a good typical meat sauce.

In the meatballs there are also pecorino cheese, caper, parsley, garlic and breadcrumbs. In the meat rolls there are : pecorinocheese,parsley,caper, garlic, pepper, and they are tied with a cotton thread. FriseBaked flour dough. Usually you wet frise in the water before eating them .Taste them with oil tomatoes, salt and oregano.

Another typical Christmas dish: fried flour dough , with yeast and salt. You can add to the dough dried cod, anchovy, cauliflower, black salty olives.PettuliThe RICCIA typical Francavillas product is the so called confetto riccio.

We usually eat confetti ricci at Carnival time. We offer confetti riccias presents on Shrove Thursday. The confetti ricci are almonds covered with sugar curled around them.

PASTA REALE SWEETS

These are typical Easter sweetsYou need sugar almonds and eggs to make pasta reale.

THE PASTA REALE LAMB

The pasta reale lamb is another typical Easter sweet made of almonds, sugar and water.THE COPETA

The copeta is a very ancient kind of torrone that is still produced nowadays in our region.

It was a famous product even at Roman times:many Latin writers like Tito Livio use to talk about such a sweet .

CARTIDDATEThe cartiddate are typical Christmas sweets prepared with flour and eggs deep-fried in olive oil and then covered with hot honey and sugar.PAPER-MACHE

Paper mach is a construction material that consists of pieces of paper, sometimes reinforced with textiles,stuck together using a wet paste (glue or wallpaper adhesive).The crafted object becomes solid when the paste dries.The artistic use of papier-mach has been known in Italy since 1500.

30Masters of this technique are the men who create the carts of the famous Carnival festivals of Putignano and Viareggio..

In order to create small objects,such as masks ,it is better to use blotting paper.

Once dried the paper-mach,becomes very light and it is used to create puppets and the Christmas crib characters.BASKETS OR PANARI

The baskets or panari are made of woven branches and are used to collect fruits.

In the past craftmanship in Francavilla produced various objects used in everyday life ,some of these handmade products are still common nowadays.

In all the Salento towns there are weavers. They work to keep the old weaving tradition still alive.

The old looms are used to show the mastery of the old weavers whose craft works are considered valuable still nowadays. They represent one of the touristic attractions of our region.

Now lets dance

Pizzica Pizzica

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The origin of Pizzica pizzica is very ancient It was born in the Salento countryside beneath the olive trees, under the hot Puglia sun.

The women ,who worked as farmer in the tobacco fields and as servants of their masters , were the victims of the tarantulas bites: the only way to get rid of the deadly effects of these bites was the frenetic dance later called Pizzica Pizzica.

Today it is still a very involving dance with its wild rhythm created by tambourines ,guitars and women dancing barefoot with long , large skirt and a red towel in their hands.Then it was played in entertaining occasions, such as Carnival, weddings, harvest time.