Torremaggiore

History

• Later a Norman, Hohenstaufen, Angevine and finally Aragonese possession, it is especially remembered as the death place of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II on 13 December 1250.
• Five years later the burg was attacked by Pope Alexander IV's troops, and the inhabitants fled to a nearby Benedictine abbey. Later they were allowed to found a new settlement, called Codacchio, later, when other refugees from Dragonara arrived, christened Terra Maioris, the modern Torremaggiore. This burg was later a fief of the Counts of Sangro. It was destroyed by an earthquake on July 30, 1627.
• On 17 March 1862 a platoon of newly united Italy's royal troops was defeated by the brigands of Carmine Crocco; 21 soldiers were killed, even their captain Francesco Richard.
• From 25 August 1925, Torremaggiore was connected to the nearby San Severo by a tramway, the first in southern Italy.

  Ecclesiastical history

Main sights

• Castle of Fiorentino, place of death of Emperor Frederick II.
• Castle of Dragonara.
• The Castle of the Dukes of Sangro, built from a Norman tower, has maintained the Renaissance appearance. It includes four circular and two square towers, and a throne hall with a 17th-century fresco frieze. It is home to the archaeological exhibition of findings from Fiorentino.
• Chiesa matrice di San Nicola, built by the refugees from Fiorentino and Dragonara, rebuilt in 1631 after the earthquake.
• Church of Santa Maria della Strada.
• Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Fontana.
• Church of the Madonna di Loreto, erected by Albanian immigrants. It was rebuilt in 1627.
• Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

  People

• Rogerius of Apulia, medieval Roman Catholic monk and chronicler
• Luigi Rossi, musician
• Raimondo di Sangro, prince and scientist
• Nicola Fiani, patriot and radical, executed after the collapse of the Parthenopean Republic
• Fortune Gallo, opera impresario
• Nicola Sacco, anarchist, executed with Bartolomeo Vanzetti following a controversial American trial
• Giuseppe Eccellente , violinist, Terremaggiore

  Twinned cities

• Buffalo, United States
• Canosa di Puglia, Italy
• Villafalletto, Italy