Palazzo Ducale

Renzo rubino a palazzo ducale Martina franca

Places to see in ( Martina Franca - Italy )

Places to see in ( Martina Franca - Italy )

Martina Franca, or only Martina, is a town and municipality in the province of Taranto, Apulia, southern Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population of 49,086. Since 1975, the town has hosted the annual summer opera festival, the Festival della Valle d'Itria.

Located in Itria Valley, close to the provinces of Bari and Brindisi, Martina Franca borders with the municipalities of Alberobello (BA), Ceglie Messapica (BR), Cisternino (BR), Crispiano, Massafra, Mottola, Locorotondo (BA), Ostuni (BR), Villa Castelli (BR), Grottaglie and Noci (BA). It counts the hamlets (frazioni) of Baratta, Capitolo, Cappuccini, Carpari, Gemma, Infarinata, Lamia Vecchia, Madonna dell'Arco, Monte Fellone, Monte Ilario, Montetulio, Monti del Duca, Motolese, Nigri, Ortolini, Papadomenico, Pergolo, Pianelle, San Paolo and Specchia Tarantina.

The opera Festival della Valle d'Itria is held annually in July/August. It presents a variety of rather unusual operas. Agriculture is concentrated in the fertile lands in small valleys. The Viticulture is mainly based on white grape wine. There are also many olive trees growing, in fact olive oil is also one of the main product of the area. The most common livestocks are sheep and goats, to which is added the breeding of thoroughbred murgese horses and the famous donkey of Martina Franca. The most developed industry is the textile manufacturing, that made Martina famous also in the movie industry for a big international film in the 80's. The services sector is characterized by banks, insurances and tourism, especially eno-gastronomic one. It is very common for tourists to visit oil mills, wine-making facilities and cellars to taste amazing local products. One of the most important culinary excellence is the Capocollo Di Martina Franca a DOP quality product.

The town has a particularly conserved old town surrounded by stone walls with prominent Baroque gates leading to piazzas and narrow, winding streets. Piazza Roma is the largest square in the old town, with a greenspace in the center of a largely triangular grass pattern, facing the 17th century Palazzo Ducale.

Martina Franca railway station in an important junction point between the lines Bari–Martina–Taranto and Martina–Lecce, both operated by the Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE). A minor station on the line to Taranto, Martina Franca Colonne Grassi, is located in the southwestern suburb. Another minor stop, San Paolo, serves the homonym frazione.

( Martina Franca - Italy ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Martina Franca . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Martina Franca - Italy

Join us for more :