MANFREDONIA, a seaport and city of Italy, in the province of Foggia, the see of an archbishop, and the centre of a maritime district, lies 22 miles north-east of Foggia, with which it is connected by railway. The situation, on the shores of the Gulf of Manfredonia and at the foot of Monte Gargano, is finely sheltered, and the vegetation of the district is similar to that of Sicily. A castle dating from the 13th century protects the port, and the city is surrounded by walls and towers. The principal building is the cathedral. Though the anchorage is available only for small vessels, a fair trade is carried on in the export of grain. While in 1863 there entered in all 418 vessels with a total burden of 20,346 tons, in 1880 the burden of the 463 vessels was only 10,832 tons. The population of the commune in 1881 was 9401.

Manfredonia is the historical representative of Sipontum, a Roman municipium and colony of some mark, which lay about 1 ⅛ miles to the south. The ancient city having greatly declined, partly owing to the unhealthiness of its situation and partly to the disasters of war, Manfred transferred its inhabitants to the present site in 1261. For a time Manfredonia flourished greatly, but the ravages of the Turks in 1620 proved fatal to its development. The site of Sipontum is marked by the ancient church of Santa Maria di Siponto.