Martina Franca

Martina Franca
—  Comune  —
Comune di Martina Franca
Piazza Plebiscito
Coat of arms
Martina Franca Location of Martina Franca in Italy
Coordinates: 40°38′N 17°02′E / 40.633°N 17.033°E / 40.633; 17.033Coordinates: 40°38′N 17°02′E / 40.633°N 17.033°E / 40.633; 17.033
Country	Italy
Region	Apulia
Province	Taranto
Founded	1300 BC[1]
Government
- Mayor	Franco Palazzo (PdL)
Area
- Total	212.33 km2 (82 sq mi)
Elevation	387 m (1,270 ft)
Population (January 2008)
- Total	16,365
- Density	77.1/km2 (199.6/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	74017
Dialing code	099
Patron saint	San Martino
Website	Official website

Martina Franca is a town and comune in the province of Taranto, Apulia (Puglia), Italy. It is the second most populated city of the province after Taranto. Since 1975, the town has hosted the annual summer opera festival, the Festival della Valle d'Itria.

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

At the 2001 census the comune had a population of 48,756 inhabitants and a land area of 295.49 km² (114.09 sq mi). It is one of the larger comune in the geographical area, ranking 39th out of 8,101.

References

1. ^ "History of Mottola". http://www.comune.mottola.ta.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=11. 

External links

• Official website (Italian)
• ViviMartina.it - first community of Martina Franca on the web
• Photography and discussions from Martina Franca