Apulia in the context of Tarantino dialect

The Ionian Sea is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania (and western Apulia, Italy) to the north, and the west coast of Greece, including the Peloponnese.

All major islands in the sea, which are located in the east of the sea, belong to Greece. They are collectively named the Ionian Islands, the main ones being Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Lefkada, and Ithaca.

Magna Graecia was the historical Greek-speaking area of southern Italy. It encompassed the modern Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were extensively settled by Greeks beginning in the 8th century BC.

Initially founded by their metropoleis (mother cities), the settlements evolved into independent and powerful Greek city-states (poleis). The settlers brought with them Hellenic civilization, which over time developed distinct local forms due to both their distance from Greece and the influence of the indigenous peoples of southern Italy. This interaction left a lasting imprint on Italy, including on Roman culture. The Greek settlers also influenced native groups such as the Sicels and the Oenotrians, many of whom adopted Greek culture and became Hellenized. In areas like architecture and urban planning, the colonies sometimes surpassed the achievements of the motherland. The ancient inhabitants of Magna Graecia are referred to as Italiotes and Siceliotes.

Greeks in Italy have been present since the migrations of traders and colonial foundations in the 8th century BC, continuing down to the present time. Nowadays, there is an ethnic minority known as the Griko people, who live in the Southern Italian regions of Calabria (Province of Reggio Calabria) and Apulia, especially the peninsula of Salento, within the ancient Magna Graecia region, who speak a distinctive dialect of Greek called Griko. They are believed to be remnants of the ancient and medieval Greek communities, who have lived in the south of Italy for centuries. A Greek community has long existed in Venice as well, the current centre of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta, which in addition was a Byzantine province until the 10th century and held territory in Morea and Crete until the 17th century. Alongside this group, a smaller number of more recent migrants from Greece lives in Italy, forming an expatriate community in the country. Today many Greeks in Southern Italy follow Italian customs and culture, experiencing cultural assimilation.

Basilicata (UK: /bəˌsɪlɪˈkɑːtə/ bə-SIL-ih-KAH-tə, US: /-ˌzɪl-/ -⁠ZIL-, Italian: [baziliˈkaːta]), also known by its ancient name Lucania (/luːˈkeɪniə/ loo-KAY-nee-ə, US also /luːˈkɑːnjə/ loo-KAHN-yə, Italian: [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-kilometre stretch on the Gulf of Policastro (Tyrrhenian Sea) between Campania and Calabria, and a longer coastline along the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea) between Calabria and Apulia. The region can be thought of as "the arch" of "the boot" of Italy, with Calabria functioning as "the toe" and Apulia "the heel".

The region has a population of 529,897 in an area of 10,073.32 km (3,889.33 sq mi). The regional capital is Potenza. The region comprises two provinces: Potenza and Matera. Its inhabitants are generally known as Lucanians (Italian: lucani), and to a lesser extent as basilicatesi or by other very rare terms.

Salento (Italian: [saˈlɛnto]; Salentino: Salentu; Salento Griko: Σαλέντο) is a cultural, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot". It encompasses the entire administrative area of the Province of Lecce, most of the Province of Brindisi (all of it except Fasano, Ostuni and Cisternino), and the south-eastern part of the Province of Taranto (like Grottaglie and Avetrana, but not Taranto itself).

The Iapygians or Apulians (Latin: Iapyges, Iapygii) were an Indo-European-speaking people, dwelling in an eponymous region of the southeastern Italian Peninsula named Iapygia (modern Apulia) between the beginning of the first millennium BC and the first century BC. They were divided into three tribal groups: the Daunians, Peucetians and Messapians. They spoke Messapic, a language of Paleo-Balkan provenance.

After their lands were gradually colonized by the Romans from the late 4th century onward and eventually annexed to the Roman Republic by the early 1st century BC, Iapygians were fully Latinized and assimilated into Roman culture.

The Messapians 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. This region includes the Province of Lecce and parts of the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto today.

Starting in the third century BC, Greek and Roman writers distinguished the indigenous population of the Salento peninsula differently. According to Strabo, the names Iapygians, Daunians, Peucetians and Messapians were exclusively Greek and not used by the natives, who divided the Salento in two parts. The southern and Ionian part of the peninsula was the territory of the Salentinoi, ranging from Otranto to Leuca and from Leuca to Manduria. The northern part on the Adriatic belonged to the Kalabroi and extended from Otranto to Egnatia with its hinterland.

The Griko people (Greek: Γκρίκο), also known as Grecanici in Calabria, are an ethnic Greek community of Southern Italy. They are found principally in the regions of Calabria and Apulia (peninsula of Salento). The Griko are believed to be remnants of the once large Ancient and Medieval Greek communities of Southern Italy (the ancient Magna Graecia region), although there is some dispute among scholars as to whether the Griko community is directly descended from Ancient Greeks, from more recent medieval migrations during the Byzantine period, or a combination of both.

A long-standing debate over the origin of the Griko dialect has produced two main theories about the origins of Griko. According to the first theory, developed by Giuseppe Morosi in 1870, Griko originated from the Hellenistic Koine when in the Byzantine era [...] waves of immigrants arrived from Greece to Salento. Some decades after Morosi, Gerhard Rohlfs, in the wake of Hatzidakis, claimed instead that Griko was a local variety evolved directly from the ancient Greek.

Brindisi (US: /ˈbrɪndɪzi, ˈbriːn-/ BRIN-diz-ee, BREEN-; Italian: [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 essential 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 the Balkan Peninsula, Greece and the Middle East. Its industries include agriculture, chemical works, and the generation of electricity.

From September 1943 to February 1944, Brindisi was the provisional government seat of the Kingdom of Italy, meaning that the city has been one of the 5 capitals in the history of Italy.

The Gulf of Taranto (Italian: Golfo di Taranto; Tarantino: Gurfe de Tarde; Latin: Sinus Tarentinus) is a gulf of the Ionian Sea, in Southern Italy.

The Gulf of Taranto is almost square, 140 km (87 mi) long and wide, making it the largest gulf in Italy, and it is delimited by the capes Santa Maria di Leuca (to the east, in Apulia) and Colonna (the ancient Lacinium, to the west, in Calabria), encompassed by the three regions of Apulia, Basilicata and Calabria. The most important rivers are the Basento, the Sinni, and the Agri.

The province of Matera (Italian: provincia di Matera; Materano: provìngë dë Matàërë) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera. It has an area of 3,447 square kilometres (1,331 sq mi) and a total population of 201,133; the city of Matera has a population of 61,204. The province contains 31 comuni (sg.: comune), listed in the list of comuni of the province of Matera). It is bordered by the province of Potenza in the west and south, the region of Calabria also to the south, the region of Apulia to the east and north, and by the Ionian Sea to the southeast.

The history of settlement in the region dates back to the Palaeolithic Period and the first instance of organised settlement was in 251 BCE, when Roman Republic consul Lucius Caecilius Metellus founded the town as Matera. Matera was sacked multiple times; initially by the Franks, then by Roman Emperor Louis II of Italy, and then by invading Muslims during the 10th century. Following this, the town was owned by the Capetian House of Anjou and the Crown of Aragon and was sold multiple times to successive wealthy families.

Salentino (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.

The province of Lecce (Italian: provincia di Lecce; Salentino: provincia te Lècce) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-populous province in Apulia and the 21st most-populous province in Italy.

The province occupies an area of 2,799.07 square kilometres (1,080.73 sq mi) and has a total population of 802,807 (2016). There are 97 comuni (sg.: comune) in the province. It is surrounded by the provinces Taranto and Brindisi in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the west, and the Adriatic Sea in the east. This location has established it as a popular tourist destination. It has been ruled by the Romans, Byzantine Greeks, Carolingians, Lombards, and Normans. The important towns are Lecce, Gallipoli, Nardò, Maglie, and Otranto. Its important agricultural products are wheat and corn. Lecce stone extracted from the province has been used to decorate several historical monuments and is widely used for interior decoration.

The province of Brindisi (Italian: provincia di Brindisi) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. It has an area of 1,839 square kilometres (710 sq mi) and a total population of 401,652 (2013).

Fasano (Italian pronunciation: [faˈzaːno]; Barese: Fasciànë) is a town and comune in the Province of Brindisi, in the region of Apulia, southern Italy. With a population of 39,026 as of 2021, it is the second most populous municipality in the province, after Brindisi.

Ostuni (Barese: Ostune; Salentino: 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 continuous British and German immigrant community and an industrial zone. The region is a producer of high quality olive oil and wine.

Cisternino (Barese: Cïsterninë) is a comune in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the coast of south-eastern Italy, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-west of the city of Brindisi. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Its main economic activities are tourism, the growing of olives and grapes, and dairy farming.

Cisternino sits in a historic zone of Itria Valley (in Italian: Valle d'Itria), known for its prehistoric conical, dry stone houses called trulli, which are preserved under UNESCO safeguards due to their cultural significance, dry stone walls (muretti a secco), and its fertile soil which makes it the home of the Salento wine region.In 2014, Cisternino was declared the Cittaslow City of the Year.

The province of Taranto (Italian: provincia di Taranto; Tarantino: provìnge de Tarde; Salentino: provincia ti Tàrantu), previously known as the province of the Ionian, is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Taranto. It has an area of 2,437 square kilometres (941 sq mi), and a total population of 581,092 (2017). The province contains 29 comuni (sg.: comune). The coat of arms of the province contains a scorpion, which Pyrrhus is thought to have seen when looking down at Taranto.

Grottaglie (Italian: [ɡrotˈtaʎʎe]; Salentino: li Vurtàgghie; Latin: Criptalium) is a town and comune (municipality) in the province of Taranto, Apulia, in southern Italy.