- Francavilla Fontana
Infobox CityIT
img_coa = Francavilla Fontana-Stemma.png
official_name = Comune di Francavilla Fontana
name = Francavilla Fontana
region =Puglia
province = Brindisi (BR)
elevation_m = 140
area_total_km2 = 175
population_as_of =
population_total = 36,489
population_density_km2 =
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|40|32|N|17|35|E
frazioni = Bax
telephone = 0831
postalcode = 72021
gentilic = Francavillesi
saint = Madonna della Fontana
day =September 14
mayor = Giuseppe Marinotti
website =
mapy = 40.65
mapx = 17.6Francavilla Fontana is a town and municipality ("
comune ") in theprovince of Brindisi (Puglia , southernItaly ).History
The name Francavilla has French-Norman origins: "Franca" (tax-free) and "villa" (town). The specification "" ("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, 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 edifice.External links
* [http://www.brindisiweb.com/provincia/francavilla.htm Description of the town] it icon
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.