This is the place we love …

1. Thisis the placewe love … Wouldyoulike toknowit?

2. Come and enjoy… ...Francavilla Fontana

3. Let’s look back toourpast… On 14th September 1310 the Prince of Taranto Filippod’Angiò 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.

4. This year Francavilla Fontana celebrates its birthday:700 years of history HAPPY BIRTHDAY

5. Let us introduce Bilotta-Marone

6. HERE WE ARE:the ComeniusTeams The 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 diBorbone named the school Royal College. In 1940 the College became Middle School “VitalianoBilotta”. In 2000 the two middle schools in Francavilla Fontana were united and became our school “Bilotta- Marone”.

7. LET’S GO SIGHTSEEING

8. “Imperiali”castle Ourtownisalsorichof fine artisticbuildingsbothreligious and civildatingdifferentcenturies. Amongthem the mostattractiveofallis the “Imperiali” Castle. The castlewasbuilt in1450 by Dal Balzo-Orsini noble family and latertransformedinto Palace by Michele Imperiali. Ithasthreefloors and issurroundedby a moat. On the beautiful façade in oriental style thereis a balconyrichlydecoratedwithbaroqueelements. Ithasbeen the Town Hall since 1821.

9. Sedile Palace This building datesbakto 1700. Ithastwofloors. On itsfaçadethereis a largebalconybeautifullydecoratedwithshells in the typicalstoneof Lecce. Theseshellshavethreesymbols: in the centre the emblemof the Imperiali family, on the right the town ‘s one and on the left the unreadableemblemof the Spanishreign.

10. Argentina-Leo Palace This Palace islocated in the historictowncentreof Francavilla. Ithasaninner court with a big archsustainedbycolumns. Above the archthereis a balustradedating back to 1400 withninecorbels. Ithaspicturesofanimals and otherobjectssculptured in “carparo” thatis a typicalstoneofsouthern Puglia.

11. Motherchurch The present building wasbuiltafter the earthquake in 1743 thatseriouslydamaged the churchbuilt in 1320 after the foundingofOur Lady’s picture. The churchhas a façade in baroque style whereyou can see a big window and St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s statues on bothsides. . You can getinto the churchbythreedoors: a bigger and centralone and twosmaller and lateralones. The dome is the highestone in Salento and itiscoveredwithmulticolouredtilesofmajolica. Ithas a Greek cross structure inside.

12. TheLiguoriniFathers Church Dedicatedto St. Alfonso de’ Liguorithischurchwas wanted by Filippo d’Angiò in 1322. In 1854 the LiguoriniFathersrebuilt the churchbuttheydidnotsucceed in finishing the worksbecausetheyleft Francavilla in 1861. The churchworkswerecompletedwhen the Fatherscame back to Francavilla. On the façadeyou can notice Renaissance elements. Itis a churchwith a nave and two side aisleswith a Latin cross structure. Itisveryrichof stucco works and goldenornaments, thatiswhyitisknownas “the goldenchurch”.

13. The Church of the Cross The earliest building dates back to 1573 when Antonio di Roncis wanted tobuild a church on the placeofanoldchapelkeeping a pictureofOur Lady of the Cross. Now the churchhas a naive and two side aisleswith a Latin cross structure. On itsfaçadeyou can seebaroqueelements and a belltower in the same style. Inside the churchthere are lotsofwoodensculptures. .

14. LET’S HAVE A LOOK TO OUR RITES AND TRADITIONS In Francavilla Fontana the Holy Week, and the Saint Patron’s Day are the mostpopulareventsof the year. Tourists, comingfrommanydifferentcountries, visit the town just tobeinvolved in the magic atmosphere createdby the famousriteswhichkeepalive a veryoldtradition.

15. QUAREMMA • Quaremmais the Carnivalwidow, anolddoll in black, whohangs on the buildingswalls, the night beforeAshWednesday. • Quaremmastandsfor the Lent, (the periodofpenancethatgoesfromShroveTuesdayto the GoodFriday), thatis the reasonwhysheis so old and ugly.

16. Childrenwiththeir “plates full of….” On HolyThursday the traditional “piatti”(plates), are ornamentaltrophiesto put on the Saint Sepulchre. The plates are decoratedwithflowers and green wheatplants and children go doortodoortoreceiveanoffer.

17. The “pappamusci” On HolyThursday the “pappamusci”, begin the devotionto the sevenchurches, whereJesuslies. The “pappamusci” are couplesofBrothers, whoall the night long tillGoodFriday go along the townveryslowly and barefoot, as a penance. The pilgrims wear largewhitetunics, hats and cowlswithtwoholestoletthemsee.

18. The Mysteries Particularlyinterestingis the so calledMysteriesprocession.The “pappamusci”, as a penancefortheirsins, follow the the statue ofJesus Christ beneath the Cross on GoodFriday. Theycarryheavycrosseslike the oneJesuscarried on the way tohisdeath. The slow processionofthesemen, whoseidentities are unknownbecauseof the clothesthey wear, givesthisevent a rare atmosphere ofmagic.

19. Saint Patron’s day On the 14 thSeptember, Francavilla Fontana celebrates the Saint Patron’s Dayin Fountain Madonna’s honour. A big processionstartsfromMother Church and goesalong the town. All the clergy, the confraternities, the otherreligiousassociations and the localauthorities take part to the procession. The bells’ ring welcomes the processioncoming back to the Mother Church:baloons are thrown, the localstreet orchestra plays and spectacularfireworksclose the celebration.

20. Wouldyoulikesome…..? Recipesfrom Francavilla Fontana Class 1l School Year 2010-2011 Here you can see some of the various delicious typical dishes we use to cook, whose tradition is very very old .

21. Cranu shtumpatu Polished and boiled wheat flavoured with meat sauce and peorino cheese or with tomato and “cacio ricotta” cheese Friseddi cu lu pepi o cu lu finucchiu “Tarallini” made of flour dough and oil with black pepper or fennel seeds

22. Fai e fogghi Mashed 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. Cozzi mateddi Snails, usually served in winter time, grilled or cooked with tomato and garlic.

23. Ricchiteddi e pizzicarieddi Fine bran handmade “orecchiette and maccheroni” pasta served with meat and tomato sauce and pecorino cheese • or with fresh tomatoes and cacio ricotta cheese or withturniptops and red hot chili pepper

24. Pashta cu la muddica fritta (a typical Lent dish) pasta with tomato sauce and breadcrumbs fried in olive oil with salty anchovy. Capuzzella Lamb head divided in two, flavoured with cheese, black pepper, olive oil, baked in the oven and then served with potatoes.

25. Purpetti e brascioli In the meatrollsthere are : pecorinocheese, parsley, caper, garlic, pepper, and they are tiedwith a cottonthread. 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.

26. Frise Bakedflourdough. Usuallyyouwet ”frise” in the water beforeeatingthem . Taste themwith oil tomatoes, salt and oregano. Pettuli Anothertypical Christmas dish: friedflourdough , withyeast and salt. You can addto the doughdriedcod, anchovy, cauliflower, blacksaltyolives.

27. The “RICCI” The “confetti ricci” are almonds covered with sugar “curled around them”. A typical Francavilla’s product is the so called “confetto riccio”. Weusuallyeat confetti ricci at Carnivaltime. Weoffer “confetti ricci”aspresents on ShroveThursday.

28. “PASTA REALE” SWEETS These are typical Easter sweets Youneedsugaralmonds and eggstomake pasta reale. THE “PASTA REALE” LAMB The “pasta reale” lambisanothertypicalEastersweetmadeofalmonds, sugar and water.

29. THE COPETA The copeta is a very ancient kind of torrone that is still produced nowadays in our region. Itwas a famousproducteven at Roman times: many Latin writerslike Tito Livio useto talk aboutsuch a sweet. CARTIDDATE The cartiddate are typical Christmas sweetspreparedwithflour and eggsdeep-friedin olive oil and thencoveredwith hot honeyand sugar.

30. Paper–machèis a construction material thatconsistsofpiecesofpaper, sometimesreinforcedwithtextiles,stucktogetherusing a wet paste (glue or wallpaper adhesive).The craftedobjectbecomessolidwhen the paste dries. The artisticuseofpapier-machéhasbeenknown in Italy since 1500. PAPER-MACHE’

31. In orderto create smallobjects,suchasmasks ,itisbettertouseblottingpaper. Mastersofthistechnique are the menwho create the cartsof the famousCarnivalfestivalsof Putignano and Viareggio.. Once dried the paper-maché,becomesvery light and itisusedto create puppets and the Christmas cribcharacters.

32. BASKETS OR “PANARI” In the pastcraftmanship in Francavilla produced variousobjectsused in everyday life ,some ofthesehandmadeproducts are still common nowadays. The baskets or “panari” are madeofwoven branches and are usedtocollectfruits.

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

34. The oldlooms are usedto show the masteryof the oldweaverswhosecraftworks are consideredvaluablestillnowadays. Theyrepresentoneof the touristicattractionsofourregion.

36. Nowlet’s dance… …Pizzica Pizzica

37. The originof Pizzica pizzicaisveryancient……… Itwasborn in the Salento countrysidebeneath the olive trees, under the hot Puglia sun. The women ,whoworkedasfarmer in the tobaccofields and asservantsoftheirmasters , were the victimsof the tarantulasbites: the only way togetridof the deadlyeffectsofthesebiteswas the frenetic dance latercalled Pizzica Pizzica. Thenitwasplayed in entertaining occasions, suchasCarnival, weddings, harvesttime. Todayitisstill a veryinvolving dance withits wild rhythmcreatedbytambourines ,guitars and women dancing barefootwith long , largeskirt and a redtowelin theirhands.