Salentino dialectSalentino (salentinu) is a dialect of the Extreme Southern Italian (Italiano meridionale estremo in Italian) spoken in the Salento peninsula, which is the southern part of the region of Apulia at the southern "heel" of the Italian peninsula. Salentino is a dialect of the Extreme Southern Italian language group (in Italian Italiano meridionale estremo). It is thus closer to the Southern Calabrian dialect and the dialects of Sicily than to the geographically less distant dialects of central and northern Apulia.
OstuniOstuni (Ostune; Stune) is a city and comune, located about 8 km from the coast, in the province of Brindisi, region of Apulia, Italy. The town has a population of about 32,000 during the winter, but can swell to 200,000 inhabitants during summer, being among the main towns attracting tourists in Apulia. It also has a consistent British and German immigrant community and an industrial zone. The region is a producer of high quality olive oil and wine. The region around Ostuni has been inhabited since the Stone Age.
LecceLecce (ˈlɛtʃeɪ ˈlettʃe) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce, with the second-highest population in the Apulia region. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is nicknamed "The Florence of the South". "Lecce stone"—a particular kind of limestone—is one of the city's main exports, because it is very soft and workable, and thus suitable for sculptures.
Griko languageGriko, sometimes spelled Grico, is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento (province of Lecce), and also called Grecanico, in Calabria. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it (Κατωιταλιώτικα, "Southern Italian") or (Γραικάνικα), whereas its own speakers call it (Γκραίκο, in Calabria) or (Γκρίκο, in Salento). is spoken in Salento while is spoken in Calabria. Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible.
MessapiansThe Messapians (Messápioi; Messapii) were an Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respectively. All three tribes spoke the Messapian language, but had developed separate archaeological cultures by the seventh century BC. The Messapians lived in the eponymous region Messapia, which extended from Leuca in the southeast to Kailia and Egnatia in the northwest, covering most of the Salento peninsula.
Adriatic SeaThe Adriatic Sea (ˌeɪdriˈætᵻk) is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the northwest and the Po Valley. The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, and Slovenia. The Adriatic contains more than 1,300 islands, mostly located along the Croatian part of its eastern coast.
BrindisiBrindisi (USˈbrɪndɪzi,_ˈbriːn- , ˈbrindizi) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an important role in trade and culture, due to its strategic position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city remains a major port for trade with Greece and the Middle East. Its industries include agriculture, chemical works, and the generation of electricity.
Messapic languageMessapic (mɛˈsæpɪk,mə-,-ˈseɪ-; also known as Messapian; or as Iapygian) is an extinct Indo-European Paleo-Balkanic language of the southeastern Italian Peninsula, once spoken in Apulia by the Iapygian peoples of the region: the Calabri and Salentini (known collectively as the Messapii), the Peucetians and the Daunians. Messapic was the pre-Roman, non-Italic language of Apulia. It has been preserved in about 600 inscriptions written in an alphabet derived from a Western Greek model and dating from the mid-6th to at least the 2nd century BC, when it went extinct following the Roman conquest of the region.
ApuliaApulia (əˈpuːliə ), also known by its Italian name Puglia (ˈpuʎʎa), is a region of Italy, located in the southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Otranto and Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Gulf of Taranto to the south. The region comprises , and its population is about four million people. It is bordered by the other Italian regions of Molise to the north, Campania to the west, and Basilicata to the southwest. Its chief town is Bari.
BasilicataBasilicata (UKbəˌsɪlᵻˈkɑːtə, US-ˌzɪl-, baziliˈkaːta), also known by its ancient name Lucania (luːˈkeɪniə, USalsoluːˈkɑːnjə, luˈkaːnja), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-km stretch on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania and Calabria, and a longer coastline along the Gulf of Taranto between Calabria and Apulia. The region can be thought of as the "instep" of Italy, with Calabria functioning as the "toe" and Apulia the "heel".
