Daunian Mountains (in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Monti della Daunia or Monti Dauni, or also improperly Subappennino Dauno) are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in southern Italy, constituting the eastern appendix of the Campanian Apennines. They occupy the western fringe of

Capitanata The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, and ...

and the border of

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

with

Molise Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...

and

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

; the range takes its name from an ancient Italic tribe, the

Dauni The Daunians ( el, Δαύνιοι, Daúnioi; la, Daunii) were an Iapygians, Iapygian tribe that inhabited northern Apulia in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Messapians, inhabited central and southern Apulia ...

, although it was strongly held by

Hirpini The Hirpini (Latin: ') were an ancient Samnite tribe of Southern Italy. While generally regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation. They inhabited the southern portion of Samnium, in the more ...

instead. The mountains and hills are bounded northwards by the

Fortore The Fortore (Latin: ''Fertor'' or ''Frento'') is a river which flows through the provinces of Benevento, Campobasso and Foggia in southern Italy. It is long. The river rises from the slopes of Monte Altieri, which reaches above sea level. The F ...

valley, eastwards by the

Tavoliere delle Puglie 300px, The Tavoliere seen from the Gargano promontory. The Tavoliere delle Puglie (; ) is a plain in northern Apulia, southern Italy, occupying nearly a half of the Capitanata traditional region. It covers a surface of c. 3,000 km², once co ...

, southwards by the upper

Ofanto The Ofanto (), known in ancient times as Aufidus or Canna, is a river in southern Italy that flows through the regions of Campania, Basilicata, and Apulia, into the Gulf of Manfredonia near Barletta. Geography The river's source is on the Irpi ...

valley. The chain is formed by

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

terrains, and is the source of a series of small streams which flow through the Tavoliere into the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. The highest peak is Monte Cornacchia, at . Historically, the Daunian Mountains have suffered a substantial depopulation in the last decades, due to their relative isolation. They include 21 ''

comuni The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'', all in the

province of Foggia The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, and ...

, which form two mountain communities (''Comunità Montana dei Monti Dauni Settentrionali '', with seat at

Casalnuovo Monterotaro Casalnuovo Monterotaro is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. The town is located in the Monti Dauni. It was historically an Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh o ...

, and the ''Comunità Montana dei Monti Dauni Meridionali'', at

Bovino Bovino is a '' comune'' and hill town at the eastern side of the Apennines in the province of Foggia, Apulia, southern Italy. Located within the woody Daunian Mountains as a terrace over the Tavoliere plains, Bovino is currently a member of the ...

Highest peaks

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dauni Mountains of Apulia Mountain ranges of the Apennines