Apulia’s fine harbours and fertile plains always made it very vulnerable to
invaders. In the 8th Century BC Greeks founded Taranto, Gallipoli and
Otranto, Italy’s easternmost town. After the defeat of Pyrrhus in 272 BC the
Romans took control of Taranto and also made Brindisi their main port for
Greece (in modern day Brindisi ferry companies sail to Corfu, Patras,
Igoumenitsa and Cefalonia, whilst Phileas Fogg, Jules Verne’s hero in
‘Around the World in Eighty Days set sail for the Suez Canal from here).
Apulia then flourished and enjoyed six centuries of
Roman civilisation. The Arabs occupied Taranto for a short time in AD 840
and later Bari in AD 847.
The Norman invasion in 1056 finally ended two centuries of Byzantine rule,
Otranto, Bari and Taranto being the last of the Byzantine cities to fall in
1070. Magnificent churches and cathedrals belong to this period of hybrid
Romanesque-Byzantine-Arab culture, known as ‘Apulian Romanesque’. There are
a vast number of Romanesque cathedrals in Puglia yet no two are completely
alike, no rules govern their architectural style, but their variety,
decoration and sculptural skill make them one of the many glories of Italian
medieval art.
The cathedrals of Bari, Otranto, Taranto and Trani are all spectacular
examples. At this time in the 11th century Lecce became a great trading
power.
Puglia became the favourite region of Frederick II (King of Sicily from 1177
to 1250 and German Emperor from 1220 to 1250) and he built the magnificent
Castel del Monte at Canosa around 1240, now listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage site. The oldest surviving example of a trulli also dates back to
the 13th Century.
The Renaissance was never fully established in Puglia, but in its place a
new age of splendour began with the Baroque period. Lecce, often referred to
as the “Florence of the South” is to the Baroque what Florence is the
Renaissance. Its Cathedral, built from soft pale stone, is the best
expression of this movement, but the style was even applied to private
buildings, many of which have elaborate portals, carved window frames and
sculptured balconies. Martina Franca’s centre is also a marvellous showcase
of Baroque and Rococo architecture.
Now, at the beginning of the 21st Century, Puglia’s tourism and agriculture
are thriving. In 2003 Puglia had over 1,500,000 Italian visitors and almost
300,000 visitors from abroad…Puglia’s own population was less than 4,000,000
in that year! It produces a very large percentage of Italy’s wine and
is the home of the sun-dried tomato and olive oil on a industrial scale. The
environmentally conscious regional government continues to legislate to
improve Puglia’s beautiful countryside, as well as its heritage.
Craftsmanship such as stone carving, pottery,
basket weaving and wrought iron are all still thriving here.
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Italy in Puglia
