Elevation 110 m (360 ft) Time zone CET (UTC+1) | Province / Metropolitan city Taranto (TA) Demonym(s) Massafresi Population 32,957 (30 Jun 2015) Local time Tuesday 8:28 PM | |
Frazioni Cernera, Chiatona, Citignano, Marina di Ferrara Weather 10°C, Wind N at 13 km/h, 72% Humidity | ||
Massafra (Greek: Messaphros) is a town and comune in the province of Taranto in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.
Contents
Map of 74016 Massafra, Province of Taranto, Italy
History
According to some hypotheses, Massafra was founded in the 5th century by refugees from the Roman province of Africa, invaded by the Vandals. The first historical mention of the city dates however from the 10th century, when it was a Lombard gastaldate.
After the Norman conquest of southern Italy, it was given to a nephew of Robert Guiscard, who fortified it and restored the castle. Later it was part of the Principality of Taranto, 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, 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.