Its roots lie in the southern Daunia, in the north-west of Puglia, in one of the most beautiful medieval villages in the south of Italy.
Here everything is very different from Rome where the actor and dubber Pierfrancesco Favino was born in August 1969. His parents are native from Candela.
Hilly village of medieval origins, Candela stands on the hills of San Rocco and San Tommaso, five hundred meters above sea level, and is enclosed between the Carapelle stream and the Ofanto river, in a delightful hilly area that offers a succession of panoramas on the hills surrounding, which frame the country that has been able to preserve its original rural imprint.
Photo from Meteoweb.it
Founded in the Norman period between the tenth and eleventh centuries, Candela was dominated by the Swabians in the late twelfth and mid-thirteenth century, knowing the period of maximum splendor with the reign of Frederick II. Then the Swabian domination followed by those of the Angevins, the Aragonese, then the Spanish, the Austrians and the Bourbons. A land, that of the small center of Foggia, deeply marked by the migratory phenomenon that, through the tratturi, brought in the area shepherds and herds from the mountains of the nearby Abruzzo.
Ideal for a visit to the village of Daunia at the end of May, when the asparagus festival is celebrated, and in the month of August, when the “Gusta Candela” event is held in the alleys of the historic center, when the “Ciammaruche”, the snails, and the orecchiette, and the 16, always of August, for the patron saint of San Rocco.
Candela is a stone crib to explore, where to enjoy alleys and buildings of merit. In the heart of the inhabited area, in Piazza Plebiscito, it is worth seeing the Mother Church dedicated to Our Lady of Purification, with an elegant Renaissance façade and the fresco by Antonio La Piccirella, representing the “Presentation of Jesus at the Temple “, a beautiful wooden choir, the fifteenth-century statue of Candlemas, a stone baptismal font from the sixteenth century and an appreciable eighteenth-century altar.
Photo from Ilgiornale.it
On the other hand, the church of Purgatory, dating back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, has an exposed stone façade, from inside a nave with three naves from the presbytery decorated with an altar characterized by polychrome marbles and an apse which offers a beautiful wooden choir.
Also worth seeing is the church of the Carmine, dating back to the eighteenth century, which houses a mosaic depicting the Madonna del Carmine, the church of the Conception, born for the sick of the civil hospital, where in 1780 the Congregation of Conception was established, that of San Tommaso, the oldest of the village, the beautiful Palazzo Doria and Palazzo Ripandelli, home to exhibitions and exhibitions.
In the shadow of the Norman-Swabian castle, which dominates the town, there is so much to see but also to savor; unmissable a taste of orecchiette, the typical Pugliese pasta with a shape similar to small ears, seasoned in the most varied ways.
Right here, about forty kilometers from Foggia, has its origins Pierfrancesco Favino, one of the protagonists of the recent film “A casa tutti bene” by Gabriele Muccino, but also of “Places standing in paradise” by Carlo Verdone, “Romance criminal “by Michele Placido,” Saturno Contro “by Ferzan Ozpetek,” The house keys “by Gianni Amelio,” Angels and demons “by Ron Howard,” L’ultimo bacio “by Muccino, alongside Stefano Accorsi, just to name a few.
Graduated at the Silvio D’Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome, Favino starts in theater and on television appearing in secondary roles. It’s the part of Gino Bartali who consecrates him on the small screen in the mini series dedicated to the great cyclist. Then many films and various participations in Hollywood productions, including “The Chronicles of Narnia – Prince Caspian” produced by Walt Disney.
Successful actor of the small and big screen but also voice actor of Daniel Day Lewis and Vincent Cassel, and awarded with, among others, the David di Donatello 2006 as best supporting actor for “Romanzo Criminale”, David di Donatello 2012 as best starring actor for “Romance of a massacre”, 2005 Golden Ciak for Best Actor for “The House Keys” and Flaiano Award 2009 as best interpreter for the fiction “Bread and freedom”.
Foto da Wired.it
In 2018 the important experience at the 68th edition of the Sanremo Festival as a conductor, an extraordinary showcase that gives Pierfrancesco Favino further popularity.
Main photo: background, by Alessio Palazzolo. Close up Biografieonline