Foggia

Sister cities

• Pescasseroli
• Forlì
• Göppingen
• L'Aquila
• Quimper
• Peterborough
• Wałbrzych

History

Foggia (Fog + gia = fog + clear).The name "Foggia" (originally Focis) probably derives from Latin "fovea", meaning "pit", referring to the pits where wheat was stored. The name's etymology remains uncertain however, as it could as well stem from "Phocaea", or possibly probably from the Medieval Greek word for "fire", which is "fotia", as according to legend the original settlers of the 11th century AD were peasants, allegedly after having [miraculously] discovered there a panel portraying the Madonna Nicopeia, on which three flames burnt. The area had been settled since Neolithic times, and later on a Daunian settlement known as Arpi (in Greek Argos Hippium or Ἀργύριππα) existed nearby, close to present-day . It was the largest city in ancient Daunia. An anachronistic legend reported by Pliny claimed that the Daunian city had been founded by Diomedes following the Trojan War. However the first document attesting to the existence of the modern city dates to 1100, in the papal bull of Pope Paschal II which mentions the church of Sancta Maria de Focis. The area remained marshy and unhealthy until the late 11th century, when Robert Guiscard directed draining the wetland, boosting the economic and social growth of the city. The city was the seat of Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo during the last twenty years of the 11th century. In the 12th century, William II of Sicily built a cathedral here and further enlarged the settlement. Frederick II had a palace built in Foggia in 1223, in which he often sojourned. He elected the city "Regalis Sedes Inclita Imperialis", the preferred seat of the Empire, as we can now read on the entrance epigraph of the remains of the imperial palace. It was also seat of his court and a studium, including notable figures such as the…

Geography

Foggia has a dry summer, Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), although it has some semi-arid climate (BSk), or steppe, influence, due to low precipitation (annually not much higher than the threshold for semi-arid climate). Winter days are generally between 11 and 13 °C but can be as cool as single figures. Low temperatures are generally above freezing, but frosts are experienced a handful of times a year. Summers are very hot, with temperatures in July and August often reaching . Temperatures exceed a handful of times a decade. Extremes are on 8 January 1985 and - the highest temperature recorded in Italy and one of the highest recorded in Europe - on 25 June 2007.