Is Foggia in Italy Worth Visiting For a Cheap Stay & Things to Do

Foggia is a city in southern Italy where we stayed for a month and found plenty to do. We ended up visiting after searching Booking.com for the cheapest places to stay in Italy for a month. We love deep diving into local life and thought, so why not? What’s the worst that can happen? After looking at photos and finding out what’s nearby for day trips, we booked.

After booking, further reading made me doubt my decision to commit to a cheap month-long stay. Many forums described Foggia as ugly. Various sites mention it’s one of the worst cities to live in. However, we were coming for the experience and to see what Italy is like beyond the popular places.

About Foggia In Italy

Foggia is an inland city in the Puglia region of southern Italy and the capital of the province of Foggia. It has the moniker ‘the granary of Italy’ because the area is a top wheat producer and is famous for its wheat pits. The city is surrounded by farmland, and the local fresh food is wonderful.

The city isn’t very touristy, but it has some nice historic places to visit, a museum, and lots of churches. The central areas are nice to spend time in, and the suburbs aren’t as aesthetically pleasing. We found it a great place to spend time and enjoy the local way of life. It is also good for a day trip. The nearest seaside is in Manfredonia, and Barletta is also a quick train ride away.

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Things To See or Do In Foggia

Foggia in Italy isn’t your typical tourist destination and isn’t geared toward tourism; however, during our month-long stay, we found plenty to see and do. There are many historic buildings to see, some in need of restoration, and some lovely churches. As we travelled with the dog, we enjoyed hanging out in parks and piazzas.

In addition to things to do in Foggia, we took some day trips to nearby places, which were very nice. Realistically, you can see all the principal places of interest in a day or two, including the cathedral, churches, museums and a nice local meal out. However, we stayed in Foggia for a month and enjoyed every day, chilling and soaking up the local vibe. Foggia is a city in Italy we’ve visited where we felt most at home.

Here are the places of interest in Foggia I enjoyed seeing while exploring the city, along with some fun activities we enjoyed.

Basilica Cattedrale di Foggia

Foggia Cathedral is a beautiful building in the city centre. It sits in Piazza Francesco de Sanctis, a place with many cafes where you can enjoy views of the building. The current building was constructed in the Romanesque style in about 1170. However, after an earthquake in 1731, they rebuilt it in the Baroque style.

I enjoyed mooching around the outside, taking in the details, and reading the information boards here. During my visit, I saw the interior a few times, including on a very quiet morning just after it opened. Inside, the decor is pleasant, and it’s a good place to reflect.

Church of the Crosses

One of the city’s unique sights is the Church of the Crosses. Sadly, during my visit, I could only see through the fences, but it still looked great. This is also known as the church of Monte Calvario, built between 1693 and 1742. It was built on the site where Capuchin Father Antonio da Olivadi planted seven crosses in a penitential procession against a famine.

The crosses gradually developed into the current site, which includes a Baroque triumphal arch, five chapels and the church. It was well worth a mooch around. However, summer afternoons are probably not the best time to try.

Palazzo Dogana

Palazzo Dogana is one of the city’s oldest buildings. Palazzo Dogana dates back to the 15th century, when it served as the customs house for sheep. It had this role until the early 19th century. Periodically, they have exhibitions inside. It also houses the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. The building is pleasant to see from the outside and well kept.

Villa Comunale

Villa Comunale is a nice place to hang out, especially in the evenings. This centrally located park has some cool features, including fountains, a bandstand, and a colonnade. We enjoyed many dog walks here and also attended some live music events that they host in the evenings during the summer. They also have some small cafes for drinks and funfair rides for children.

Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio

One of many interesting churches to visit inside for free is Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio. This neoclassical church dates to the 18th century.

I loved the columns by the entrance and having a quick mooch inside. Inside Chiesa di San Francesco Saverio, it is quite minimalist, but it was a lovely place of tranquillity, and it was great to sit and cool down.

Church of Saint John the Baptist

Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, aka St John the Baptist Church, is a pretty building in the city. I enjoyed visiting it and seeing it from the inside. Inside, it was rather pretty and a nice, quiet place to visit. Foggia reveres John the Baptist, and they celebrate his feast day each year on June 24.

The Baroque church dates back to the 16th century, when the Order of Malta owned it; however, it was reconstructed in 1626 and passed to the Confraternity of the Annunziata. Apparently, in 1731, there were two miracles in the church which happened after an earthquake.

Auditorium Santa Chiara

Another nice building to see while exploring is the Auditorium Santa Chiara. The Auditorium Santa Chiara is now used as a theatre or for concerts. It used to be a church, dating back to the 15th century. However, the current building was rebuilt in 1742 after an earthquake. The Rococo features on its facade are what piqued my interest.

Chiesa di Gesù e Maria Door

Palazzo Del Governo

Piazza U. Giordano

Piazza U. Giordano is a pleasant square in the city centre, with many statues, surrounded by pretty buildings. The statues in the square depict characters featured in Giordano’s works. I found it a nice place to hang out or to sit down, especially when the sun is low in the sky and it has cooled down.

Stadio Pino Zaccheria & Foggia Football

Museo Civico

Tre Archi

Chiesa Rettoria dell’Addolorata

Palazzo De Vita – De Luca

One building that caught my imagination is the in-need-of-love Palazzo De Vita-De Luca. Palazzo De Vita – De Luca is in the central area, and according to research, is the building locals would most love to see restored. The building dates from the 16th century, and its facade has many fine decorative elements that would be fantastic to see restored.

Foggia, Italy, Budget Travel Guide

Some things to help you decide whether Foggia, Italy, is worth visiting and how to get the most out of your visit.

Cheap Accommodation

When deciding where to visit in Italy, we had a few dealbreakers. We searched Booking.com for the following:

Dog-friendly, as we travel with Henry.
Basic cooking facilities and a fridge, as we cannot afford to eat out daily, and Italian market food is great to cook with.
Air conditioning is mainly for Henry, as it can get very hot.
City with a train station.

After filtering these out and searching by price (low to high), we found Business Home Piazza Cesare Battisti B&B Residence. This place had everything above, fantastic reviews, and good photos. Anyway, it was a pleasure to stay here, and as a bonus, the owner was lovely; there was a cleaning service, and they had a shared laundry machine. It was certainly set up for longer stays.

Shopping

Many other stores throughout the city sell a range of useful items. You can also find some wonderful supermarkets. The farmers’ market is a great place to buy food while staying in the city. It’s vibrant and smells wonderful. There are 100s of stalls selling all sorts of regional produce, including cheese, cured meats, fruit and vegetables.

It’s also a good place to buy clothes, shoes and household items. We purchased a few essentials and replaced my wife’s trainers here. Surprisingly, these shops didn’t have the pink premium that we’ve experienced in many other places. We also found options for pet shops to keep Henry fed as he is accustomed to, as well as a rotisserie chicken shop for occasional treats.

Bars & Cafes

We really enjoyed getting out and enjoying the local bars and cafes, often with Henry. Foggia has lots of these, from small local venues to some cool, hip places. We found that prices and service were good. These usually had the full range of coffees, from the popular espresso to the fancy caffè crema. They also do iced coffees, AKA Café Freddo. Bars sold both draught and bottled beer, including the big 660ml bottles. We also enjoyed snacks there, including savoury pastries, gelato and filled cornetto.

During our visit, we frequented many places for coffee or beer o’clock. We found everything from cool places with views to budget-friendly options. As we stayed for a month, we became friendly with some of the staff/owners. My favourite places for a drink were Paradise Bar, our local greengrocer and Wals.

For eating out, there were many good options, including the very popular Pizzeria Da Brigida, which serves excellent pizza.

Getting To Foggia

After a morning further enjoying Ferrara, we embarked on a long train journey to Foggia via Bologna. The train to Bologna was pretty straightforward, but I was expecting a rough time on the southbound train. When I booked, there were very few seats left, so I knew it would be rammed, with lots of people excited to see Henry wake him up.

Despite the cramped and hot journey, it was quite pleasant, and I enjoyed the views along Italy’s east coast, including Ancona and Rimini, from my travel hot list. Wow, there are lots of beach umbrellas on that stretch of coast. We arrived in Foggia at sunset, which was a pleasant welcome, and then checked into our accommodation for the month.