public garden with century old avenues that converge on an artificial mound called Montagnella, and a platform with bronze statues and a large round stage for concerts. A number of small monuments are dispersed throughout the flower beds, including the marble bust (1837) of Matteo Tondi by Tito Angelini. After the earthquake of 1627 and the gradual removal of walls, the town expanded with the creation of new districts. To contain the damage caused by frequent earthquakes, most of the buildings do not exceed two floors (and often were reduced to low ground floors and whitewashed gable roofs). The expansion of the city continued into the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Dialect Because of its geographic location, San Severo has had direct contact for centuries with the dialects of Gargano, northern Apulia, Molise, and Campania. As a result, the Sanseverese dialect is overall very close to that of Naples. Among the various dialects of Apulia, it differs somewhat from that of nearby Foggia and has little relationship with that of the city of Bari. As an example, the sentence, "The dog bites the bottom," in standard Italian would be "Il cane morde lo straccione," whereas in Sanseverese it would be "U chen mòccëchë 'u straccet," and in the Foggian dialect it would be "U chen muccichèjë 'u stracce." San Severo DOC The Italian wine DOC around San Severo produces red, white and rose wines, as well as the occasional sparkling spumante. Grapes are limited to a harvest yield of 14 tonnes/ha throughout the 2,000 ha (5000 acre) production zone. The red and rose wines are made from 70-100% Montepulciano with Sangiovese permitted by up to 30%. The white and spumante wines are produced with 40-60% Bombino bianco, 40-60% Trebbiano and up to 20% Verdeca. Events Patronal feast San Severo is famous for its yearly festival held on the third Sunday of May. Called "La Festa del Soccorso" (The Festival of Help/Aid), it is held in honor of the patron saints of San Severo, "La Madonna del Soccorso" (The Madonna of Help/Aid), Saint Severinus Abbot, and Saint Severus Bishop. During this festival, San Severo features nighttime and daytime fireworks in order to celebrate the Madonna; the daytime fireworks are a major attraction. Extremely loud firecracker chains are placed along the city streets. In many cases they extend for kilometers. A common practice is for young males to run along the