Massafra () is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Taranto The province of Taranto ( it, provincia di Taranto; Tarantino: ; Salentino: ), previously known as the province of the Ionian, is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Taranto. It has an area of , and a total popul ...

in the

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

region of southeast

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

According to some hypotheses,Giuseppe Blandamura,'' Choerades Insulae'', Taranto, Tipografia Arcivescovile, 1925. Massafra was founded in the 5th century by refugees from the Roman province of Africa, invaded by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

. The first historical mention of the city dates however from the 10th century, when it was a Lombard

gastald A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers. ...

ate. After the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

conquest of southern Italy, it was given to a nephew of

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...

, who fortified it and restored the castle. Later it was part of the

Principality of Taranto The Principality of Taranto was a state in southern Italy created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Ap ...

, to which, as a free town, it belonged until 1463. In 1484 it was assigned to Antonio Piscitello. In 1497 it was sacked by the troops of

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

, and the fief went to Artusio Pappacoda, whose family held it for a century and a half. They were succeeded by the Carmignano and the Imperiale.

Main sights

Castle of Massafra The Castle of Massafra, located in the historic center of Massafra, is a medieval castle overlooking the Pizzo Ravine and San Marco. Its structure and architectural motifs are similar to other castles in Apulia it, Pugliese , population_not ...

, known from 970 * Mother Church (16th century) * Natural reserves of Monte Sant'Elia and Stornara * Numerous rock settlements, from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

to the High Middle Ages

Notable people

Vincenzo Patrick Guglielmelli Vincenzo Patrick Guglielmelli (born 15 June 1987 in Massafra, Province of Taranto) is an Italian footballer. He plays as a forward. He is currently playing for S.F. Aversa Normanna. See also *Football in Italy *List of football clubs in Italy ...

(born 1987), Italian footballer

References

External links

Official website

Cities and towns in Apulia {{Puglia-geo-stub