(official bordering the
Adriatic Sea in the east, the
Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its southern portion known as
Salento , a peninsula, forms the heel of the Italian "boot." The region is comprised of 7,469 square miles (19,345 squ km), and its population is 4,031,885 residents (1991). It is bordered by the other Italian regions of
Molise to the north,
Campania to the west, and
Basilicata to the southwest. It is close to
Albania , which is 80 km across the Adriatic. The region extends as far north as Monte Gargano, and was the scene of the last stages in the second
Punic War .
Bari is the capital of the region, which is divided into the provinces (and their capitals by the same name) of
Bari ,
Brindisi ,
Foggia ,
Lecce , and
Taranto . Apulia is mostly a plain; its low coast, however, is broken by the mountainous Gargano Peninsula in the north, and there are mountains in the north central part of the region. Other important centers are
Alberobello ,
Conversano ,
Barletta ,
Canosa ,
San Giovanni Rotondo ,
Manfredonia ,
Martina Franca ,
Mesagne ,
Molfetta ,
Ostuni ,
Otranto ,
Santa Maria Di Leuca ,
Trani ,
San Vito Dei Normanni ,
Barletta Gioia Del Colle and
Andria .
Farming was the chief occupation, but industry has expanded rapidly. Farm products include olives, grapes, cereals, almonds, figs, tobacco, and livestock (sheep, pigs, cattle, and goats). Manufactured products include refined petroleum, chemicals, cement, iron and steel, processed food, plastics, and wine. Fishing is pursued in the Adriatic and in the Gulf of Taranto. The scarcity of water has long been an acute problem in Apulia, and it is necessary to carry drinking water by aqueduct across the Apennines from the
Sele River in Campania.
In ancient times only the northern part of the region was called Apulia; the southern peninsula was known as
Calabria , a name later used to designate the toe of the Italian "boot." The region was settled by several
Italic peoples and by the colonial
Greeks before it was conquered in the 4th century B.C. by the
Romans . After the fall of Rome, Apulia was held successively by the
Goths , the
Lombards , and the
Byzantines . In the 11th century, it was conquered by the
Normans ;
Robert Guiscard set up the duchy of Apulia in 1059. After the Norman conquest of
Sicily in the late 11th century,
Palermo replaced Melfi (just west of present day Apulia) as the center of Norman power, and Apulia became a mere province, first of the
Kingdom Of Sicily , then of the
Kingdom Of Naples . From the late 12th to early 13th centuries, Apulia was a favorite residence of the
Hohenstaufen emperors, notably
Frederick II . The coast later was occupied at times by the
Turks and by the
Venetians . In 1861, the region joined
Italy . The feudal system long prevailed in the rural areas of Apulia; social and agrarian reforms proceeded slowly from the 19th century and accelerated in the mid-20th century. The characteristic Apulian architecture of the 11th–13th centuries reflects
Greek ,
Arab ,
Norman , and
Pisan influences. There are universities at Bari and Lecce.
The official national language (since 1861) is has been spoken since a wave of refugees settled there in the 15th century.
