Martina Franca

Italian town

Martina Franca, or just Martina (Martinese: Marténe), is a town and municipality in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086.

Located in the Itria Valley, close to the provinces of Bari and Brindisi, Martina Franca borders with the municipalities of Alberobello (BA), Ceglie Messapica (BR), Cisternino (BR), Crispiano, Massafra, Mottola, Locorotondo (BA), Ostuni (BR), Villa Castelli (BR), Grottaglie and Noci (BA). It counts the hamlets (frazioni) of Baratta, Capitolo, Cappuccini, Carpari, Gemma, Infarinata, Lamia Vecchia, Madonna dell'Arco, Monte Fellone, Monte Ilario, Montetulio, Monti del Duca, Motolese, Nigri, Ortolini, Papadomenico, Pergolo, Pianelle, San Paolo, and Specchia Tarantina.

The opera Festival della Valle d'Itria is held annually in July/August. It presents a variety of rather unusual operas. a DOP quality product.

The town has a particularly conserved old town surrounded by stone walls with prominent Baroque gates leading to piazzas and narrow, winding streets. Piazza Roma is the largest square in the old town, with a green space in the centre of a largely triangular grass pattern, facing the 17th century Palazzo Ducale.

The comune of Martina Franca produces a white Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) Italian wine that can be made in a still or sparkling Spumante style. The wine has a tendency not to age well, often turning from a light white color to a darker amber color and losing its fresh fruit flavors after only 3 to 4 years in the bottle. All grapes destined for DOC wine production needing to be harvested to a yield no greater than 13 tonnes/ha. The wine is made predominantly (50 65%) from Verdeca and Bianco d'Alessano which can make between 45 40% of the blend. Additional grapes are permitted up to a maximum of 5% including Bombino bianco, Fiano and Malvasia Toscana. The finished wine must attain a minimum alcohol level of 11% in order to be labelled with the Martina Franca DOC designation.

The town's football team is the A. S. Martina Franca 1947, which are currently plays in Lega Pro. Its home ground is the Gian Domenico Tursi Stadium. The Formula One driver Antonio Giovinazzi was born in Martina Franca. The local futsal club is the LCF Martina. It was founded in 2009 and its home ground is the PalaWojtyla.

Martina Franca railway station in an important junction point between the lines Bari–Martina–Taranto and Martina–Lecce, both operated by the Ferrovie del Sud Est (FSE). A minor station on the line to Taranto, Martina Franca Colonne Grassi, is located in the southwestern suburb. Another minor stop, San Paolo, serves the homonym frazione.

In the novel Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, Martina Franca is the setting of a troll attack.