History, geography, and humanity in a middle-region.

During 5 th century BC, the Messapian civilization had already developed and had acquired well-defined features from the point of view of culture, ethnic group, politics and strategic-military system.

The ancient word Metapia, then become Messapia (middle region), refers to the peninsula of Salento as it is set between the Greek world and the land occupied by the Itali population.

Japudìa o Japùdia (Japigia), which according to some modern scholars is the origin of the word Apulia, is a term of Greek origin and it refers to the entire region of Puglia .

Since the first civilizations, Puglia was crossroads of important migrations of populations coming from the Balkans. Some of them, among which predominant were the Greek Japigi, occupied permanently the whole region and they melted with the natives.

Dauni, Peucezi and Messapi were all tribes of Japigi that settled in these areas during the big Greek migration in the Iron Age.

The Salento area is located in the south-est part of Puglia and has the shape of a peninsula (it is the “heel” of Italian peninsula). It extends from the so-called “Messapian Threshold” - a depression 40 km wide that divides Salento from Murge hills - for about 140 km up to Santa Maria di Leuca Cape, between the Channel of Otranto (Adriatic sea) at north and Taranto Gulf ( Ionian sea ) at south.

The fabric of society in Salento area has always been quite even, characterized by a regular distribution of the population. The small towns and villages, set in the middle of the country full of several scattered farms, stand out in the landscape because of their white houses and buildings. The town of Manduria is one of the most important of Messapian territory because of its cultural and economic background as well as for being a city of wine and a popular archaeological site in the Murge hills of the province of Taranto . It's also worth mentioning the city of Lecce and its baroque style, the harbour of Gallipoli , Taranto with its gulf's economic and trade activities, Otranto and its homonymous Channel well known for its harbour and its sea resorts.

Farm sector represents the first source of income of this region which produces grapes (which make the region the first producer of wine), wheat, olives and oil. The tourism sector, especially art tourism linked to the remarkable artistic heritage of Puglia such as Romanic and Baroque architecture, ecotourism, beach tourism, food and oenotourism indicate Puglia , and Salento in particular, as one of the pearls of Mediterranean , recently rediscovered and reappraised by the big national and international touristic streams.