What is Faeto known for?

With Celle di San Vito the only Franco-Provençal linguistic minority in southern Italy, descended from Angevin colonists settled in 1266. At 820 meters the highest village in the region, on the ridge below Monte Cornacchia, the cool mountain counterpoint to the coastal trulli. Mountain-cured pork ham aged at altitude in the village curing rooms, sold across the province as the high-altitude Puglian salume.

Faeto is a comune in the province of Foggia, Apulia region of Italy, about 46 kilometers from Foggia.

Apulia · Foggia

Faeto

The highest village in Puglia at 820 meters, Franco-Provençal-speaking since 1266, on a Monti Dauni ridge below Monte Cornacchia.

820m

Elevation

46 km / 29 mi

Nearest hub (Foggia)

616

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi Autentici

Why come

Faeto sits at 820 meters on a Monti Dauni ridge, the highest village in Puglia, fifty kilometers west of Foggia on the regional border with Campania. Together with its three-kilometer neighbour Celle di San Vito it forms the only Franco-Provençal linguistic minority in southern Italy, recognised by Italian law 482 of 1999. The dialect, known locally as faetano, descends from Provençal colonists settled in the Daunia by Charles I of Anjou after his victory at Benevento in 1266; he stationed garrisons in the strategic highlands and the colonists held. The faetano language is still used in daily conversation by an aging population of 616 residents. Monte Cornacchia, at 1,151 meters the highest peak in Puglia, rises just north of the village; old sheep tracks climb to it through beech forest. The municipal salume, prosciutto di Faeto, is cured at altitude and sold across the province as the high-mountain Puglian cured ham.

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Gallery

8 photos · scroll →

Known for

Centro storico
Stone village on the Monti Dauni ridge at 820 meters, the highest centro storico in Puglia, narrow stepped streets organised around the parish church.
Chiesa Madre di San Salvatore
Parish church in the upper village, the religious anchor where the patronal feast is celebrated and faetano hymns are still sung.
Monte Cornacchia
At 1,151 meters the highest peak in Puglia, just north of Faeto, beech forest with old sheep tracks climbing from the village edge.
Belvedere sui Monti Dauni
Panoramic edge of the village looking across the Daunia ridges toward Campania, with the Tavoliere haze visible to the east on clear days.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the workable season at 820 meters in the Monti Dauni: cool evenings, dry summer air, the beech and oak forest in full leaf. June through August stay in the low twenties while Foggia bakes at thirty-eight; the village climate is the real reason to come in high summer. October brings the porcini and chestnut harvest. November through April is cold, often snowy, and the village population is small enough that winter closures are widespread. The patronal Festa di San Salvatore in early August fills the streets and is the one moment Faeto looks busy.