A brief guide to the city of Foggia

Foggia is located in Capitanata, the northernmost province of Puglia and is the provincial capital. Located in the plain known as the ‘granary of Italy’ Foggia is believed to have been founded by the inhabitants of Arpi a Greek and Roman town that declined in the 3rd century BC. You can see the ruins of Arpi just north of the city.

The city was devastated by an earthquake in the 18th century and heavily bombed during the Second World War and so little of its ancient past remains. Saying that, you can visit the Norman/Baroque Cattedrale della Santa Maria Icona Vetere off Piazza del Lago. Its campanile was rebuilt after the 1731 earthquake. There is also the Museo Civico in Piazza Nigri which has some interesting archaeological exhibits tracing the region’s history.

Otherwise, you will have to be content with visiting the modern part of this city with its shops, restaurants, parks and hotels. It is a pleasant place to spend a half day, but probably best used as a base as it is quite well located for the beautiful Gargano peninsula famous, among other things, for its wonderful wild flowers.