Mesagne ( Mesagnese: ) is a ''

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 Brindisi The Province of Brindisi ( it, Provincia di Brindisi) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. It has an area of and a total population of 401,652 (2013). Geography The Province of Brindisi is situated in ...

and region of

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

, on the south-east

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 ...

coast. Its main economic activities are tourism and the growing of olives and grapes. It is the fifth most-populous town of the province, and it is from Brindisi.

History

Mesagne was an important center when

was dominated by the

Messapians The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respectivel ...

, because it joined Oria to the

port of Brindisi The port of Brindisi is a port in Brindisi, Italy. It is used for tourism, commercial and industrial shipping on the Adriatic Sea. Tourist traffic offer connections with the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey, while commercial concerns include coal, fuel ...

. After the Roman conquest, it was also an important city located on the

Appian Way The Appian Way (Latin and Italian language, Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Republic, republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is ...

. Its name is from these times. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

it was called ''Castrum Medianum'', then ''Castro Misciano'', this is the name used from the 16th century. When Giovanni Antonio Orsini Del Balzo decided to expend the city's castle, Mesagne evolved, with the construction of a theater, a hospital and the paving of roads. The city remains important in the economy of the province to this day, with much industry in the area.

Main sights

*The castle, existing from the 11th century; in 1195 it was given to the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. Today it houses an archaeological museum *Messapic necropolises *15th century walls *Palaeo-Christian church (''tempietto'') of St. Lawrence (7th century) *Basilica del Carmine (14th century) *Mater Domini church (1598–1605)

Local culture

Events

*''Natale Nel Cuore'' (''Christmas in Heart''): exposition of little statuettes representing the most important characters of Christmas *''Cavalcata dei Magi'' (''Cavalcade of the Magi''): Historical.

''Sagre''

*''Sagra ti la fucazza chena'': Festival of the stuffed oven-baked bread (made by a type of pizza dough) *''Sagra ti li stacchioddi'': Festival of ''Orecchiette'' ("little ears") a type of homemade fresh pasta *''Sagra ti li peschi'': Festival of peaches

Sport

In Mesagne, the most popular sport practised is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. The local team is named ''A.S.D. Mesagne 1929''. The team plays in the ''Promozione'' championship. Basketball has two male teams: Mens Sana Mesagne and Virtus Mesagne, which play in the ''C2'' championship. Also the female team, Meyana Mesagne, plays in ''A2'' championship. The city's female volleyball team, Volley Mesagne, plays in the ''C'' championship. Carlo Molfetta was taekwondo gold medal in the 80+ kg category at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

of London.

References

External links

Cities and towns in Apulia Localities of Salento {{Apulia-geo-stub