Foggia, city,Puglia (Apulia)regione (region), southeasternItaly, in the center of the Puglia Tableland, west-northwest ofBarletta.

Foggia is believed to have been founded by the inhabitants of Arpi (also called Argyrippa, GreekArgos Hippion), a Greek and Roman town that declined after theSecond Punic War (3rd centurybce); the ruins of Arpi are a short distance north. Foggia may have been named for local pits or cellars (Latinfoveae; still calledfogge) that are used either for grain storage or to supply drinking water for sheep. It was a favorite seat of theHoly Roman emperorFrederick II, who had the town’s fortificationsdismantled after it supported the pope in the latter’s struggle with him. It passed toCharles I of Anjou, king ofNaples andSicily, who died there in 1285. From 1447 to 1806 it was the center for collection of the sheep tax on flocks migrating between highlands and plains. After the restoration following theNapoleonic Wars, it became a center for Carbonari revolutionary societies and took a vigorous part in the revolts of 1820, 1848, and 1860 against theKingdom of Naples. The capture of the Foggia military airfields in 1943 was an important action in consolidating the Allied position in southern Italy inWorld War II.

Partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1731 and severely damaged in World War II, Foggia has been rebuilt along modern lines. Only a door remains of Frederick II’s palace, but the cathedral, begun byWilliam II the Good, king of Sicily, withBaroque alterations, survives. There is a museum, a picture gallery, and a library, the archives of which include those of the sheep tax.

Foggia lies on the main railway fromBologna toBari and is also connected by rail with Naples. A major wool market for centuries, Foggia is also an important agricultural center for the wheat, vegetables, olives, grapes, fruit, tobacco, and cheese of the Puglia Tableland. In addition to food industries, there are cellulose and paper mills. Pop. (2011) 147,036; (2024 est.) 145,723.