Acquaviva delle Fonti
| Acquaviva delle Fonti | |
|---|---|
| Comune | |
 Acquaviva delle Fonti
|
|
| Coordinates: 40°54′N 16°51′E / 40.900°N 16.850°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region |
 Apulia
|
| Province / Metropolitan city | Bari (BA) |
| Frazioni | Collone, Salentino |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Davide Francesco Ruggero Carlucci |
| Area | |
| • Total | 130.98 km2 (50.57 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 300 m (1,000 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 21,320 |
| • Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Acquavivesi |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 70021 |
| Dialing code | 080 |
| Patron saint | Sant'Eustachio, SS. Maria di Costantinopoli |
| Saint day | May 20 |
| Website | Official website |
Acquaviva delle Fonti ("Acquaveìvə" Bari dialect) is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy. The name "Acquaviva" comes from the large flow of groundwater flowing into the subsoil; Acqua-water/Viva-alive to enhance the abundance of underground water. The elevation is 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level, and the town is 26 kilometres (16 mi) from the Adriatic Sea and Bari, which is the biggest city of the region. The Ionian Sea is more than 45 kilometres (28 mi) away.
Acquaviva houses one of the biggest hospitals of all of southern Italy, the Ospedale Generale Regionale Francesco Miulli, or Hospital Miulli, which has almost all surgery departments and even a center for the treatment of rare diseases. On 30 September 2006 was officially inaugurated the new structure of the Hospital "Francesco Miulli" in "Curtomartino" area, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) outside Acquaviva on the road for Santeramo in Colle. Forty months of implementation, more than 170 technical engineers, surveyors, architects, 90,000 square metres (970,000 sq ft) of total area, 16,000 square metres (170,000 sq ft) of which are covered. More than 600 workers employed to build this huge structure that incorporates a total of 705 beds.
Acquaviva enjoys a Mediterranean fresh climate with mild winters and warm to hot, dry summers. Snowfall in winter is very rare but possible. During the summer of 2008 temperatures reached as high as 42 °C (108 °F).
The origins are uncertain. Some scholars and historians trace the foundation around the 4th-5th century BC in the area of Salentino hamlet, a few kilometers from the modern town, on a hill overlooking a fertile plain area. Probably the greater fertility of the land in the valley, the abundance of spring water that flowed into the ground a few feet from the surface, or some devastation were the causes that led the people of Salentino to move to the current city center.
The city's prosperity has been historically connected to its large underground aquifer. In the early Christian era it was an episcopal see, but was later destroyed by foreign invasions. Under the Aragonese domination a castle was built here. In the 15th century its fief belonged fir to the Orsini del Balzo and then, starting with Giulio Antonio Acquaviva, to the eponymous family, who held it until 1614.
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Wikipedia