Foggia

Foggia, city, southern Italy, capital of Foggia Province, in Apulia Region. It is an important rail and road junction. Lying in the heart of the fertile Apulian plain, Foggia is the leading wheat market of southern Italy. For centuries it has been customary to store the wheat in vaults beneath the city square. The principal industries of the city are flour milling and the manufacture of macaroni, cheese, and wine. The cathedral, begun in the 12th century and rebuilt after 1731, is constructed largely in the baroque style, but the foundations are Romanesque. Foggia was leveled by an earthquake in 1731 and was bombed by the Allies during World War II. Population (2001) 155,203.