plateau , built by the
King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II between 1240 and 1250 in
Andria Antiquity Human settlement in Apulia dates back to at least 250,000 years ago, as evidenced by the fossil remains of the
Altamura Man, an archaic form of
Neanderthal. There are numerous finds from the prehistoric era, including several
menhir and
dolmen. Around the 1st millennium BC, the
Iapygians settled in the territory with the tribes of the
Daunians, the
Peucetians and the
Messapians, as well as the populations of the Calabri and the Sallentini (both settled in
Salento); later, in the Hellenic era, the
Magna Graecia colonies were quite numerous, especially in the southern part of the region, including the city of
Taras, now
Taranto. During the second
Samnite war (326–304 BC), the
Roman army, in an attempt to provide relief to
Lucera, besieged by the Samnites, suffered a serious defeat in the
Battle of the Caudine Forks, in 321 BC. Rome soon understood the strategic importance of
Apulia (corresponding only to the central-northern part of present-day Apulia, while the
Salento Peninsula was known as
Calabria in that period), but the occupation of the region, in the third century BC, was not easy, especially for the resistance of Tarentum and Brundisium. In 216 BC in
Cannae the Roman army suffered its worst defeat against
Hannibal's
Carthage. Around 7 BC, emperor
Augustus divided
Roman Italy into regions, one of them being
Regio II Apulia et Calabria. Later on, emperor
Diocletian (284-305) reorganized Italian regions into provinces, and the newly created
Province of Apulia and Calabria was placed under the jurisdiction of the
Diocese of Suburbicarian Italy. With the construction of the
Appian Way and, in the imperial era, of the
Via Traiana along which cities such as
Troia,
Ordona,
Gravina,
Canosa,
Ruvo and
Bitonto prospered. The region occupied leading positions in the production of grain and oil, becoming the largest exporter of olive oil in the East.
Middle Ages and Renaissance period '') in southern Italy, around 1000 (
Calabria,
Lucania,
Langobardia) At the
Fall of the Western Roman Empire (476), Apulia also went through a prolonged period of unrest and political changes. Under the
Ostrogothic rule, the old Roman
Province of Apulia and Calabria continued to exist within administrative structures of the Ostrogothic realm. In 535,
Byzantine Emperor
Justinian I (527-565) launched the re-conquest of
Italy, thus initiating the
Gothic War, that ended with Byzantine victory (554). Under imperial rule, the
Praetorian prefecture of Italy also included the province of
Apulia and Calabria (modern Apulia with Salento). Since 569, the invading
Lombards tried and partially succeeded to conquer much of the region. Responding to those threats, remaining Byzantine territories in Italy were regrouped into several regions, or
eparchies in 580, one of them being
Calabria, that was encompassing not only ancient Roman
Calabria (Salento), but also remaining parts of Apulia,
Lucania and
Bruttium, thus laying foundation for the expansion of the term. Already by 584, the entire Italian Prefecture was reorganized into the
Exarchate of Ravenna, that was encompassing the enlarged
Calabria, but in time much of southern Italy, including parts of Apulia, fell under the rule of Lombard
Duchy of Benevento. During the 9th century, coastal regions of Apulia were briefly occupied by
Saracens who established the
Emirate of Bari. Saracens were driven out of Apulia during 870s, and the Byzantine rule was imposed again throughout Apulia, with Bari becoming the capital of a distinctive Byzantine province (
theme) known as
Langobardia (in reference to regions recaptured from Beneventan Lombards), that was by the middle of the 10th century placed under jurisdiction of the newly created
Catepanate of Italy. With the
advent of the Normans in the 11th century, Taranto became the capital of the
Principality of Taranto, which extended across the entire
Terra di Otranto. In 1043, the
Norman adventurer William of Hauteville founded the county of Apulia, which in 1057 merged into the vast
County of Apulia and Calabria, under the rule of his younger brother,
Robert Guiscard. This territory, which became the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria, progressively extended up to the
Principality of Salerno. From 1130 it became part of the
Kingdom of Sicily under the rule of
Roger II of Sicily, yet another Hauteville (their father,
Tancred sired an astonishing thirteen sons) and Robert Guiscard's younger brother. In the 13th century the name Apulia was used by some authors to indicate the southern part of the Italian peninsula. During the Sicilian domination Apulia achieved great material and civil progress, which reached its peak with
Frederick II, who was responsible for the construction of a series of secular and religious buildings, some of high artistic value, including
Castel del Monte, near
Andria. During this period
Foggia became one of his residences. From 1282, following the separation of the island of Sicily from the rest of the south of the peninsula, Apulia was under the rule of the
Kingdom of Naples, from that moment the power of the landowners began to take root in the territory.
Early modern period From the middle of the 18th century the region of Apulia experienced a period of strong economic prosperity and excellent development of trade and agriculture. Between 1806 and 1815, during the
Napoleonic era, provided the modernization of Apulia with the abolition of feudalism and judicial reforms until the return of the Bourbons and the birth of the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Liberal movements were formed throughout the region in 1820 with the spread of
Freemasonry and
Carbonari. With the
Kingdom of Italy established in 1861, Apulia was administratively divided into the provinces of Foggia, Bari and Lecce; to these were added in the twentieth century the provinces of Brindisi and Taranto. In the period following the unification of Italy, various brigand gangs arose, especially in Capitanata and Terra di Bari; among the major exponents are Michele Caruso, Antonio Angelo Del Sambro and Giuseppe Schiavone, the latter a faithful lieutenant of the Lucanian brigand leader
Carmine Crocco.
Modern period With the progressive decline of the
latifundium, the ancient Apulian farms, properties of medium agricultural size, also decayed. During
fascism, Apulia was affected by numerous land reclamations in vast areas and, following the post-war agrarian reform, the region enjoyed strong agricultural development. In the 1970s and 1980s the economy of the region moved from the primary sector to the tertiary one, with notable development coming from the tourism sector. ==Economy==