The city of Foggia, home to about 150,000 people, was a key strategic stronghold during World War II. The city evolved during the late 1800s and early 1900s as a connection point for commerce between northern and southern Italy, and thus was bombed heavily by Allied troops before they invaded and took control in 1943. That intensive, manmade destruction — along with earthquakes that struck the city in 1456, 1534, 1627, and 1731 — has all but destroyed the historic sites that otherwise might make Foggia an archaeological windfall today. For instance, only a single arch remains from the imperial palace of Frederick II, who was the Holy Roman Emperor beginning in 1220.

If you find yourself in this city on the way to others in the region, be sure to stop for a look at the city's cathedral, which offers an interesting look at architectural history. It was built in the 1100s, but then underwent extensive renovation in the 1600s and today boasts an eighteenth-century interior.