The Terra di Otranto, or Terra d’Otranto (in English, Land of Otranto), is an historical and geographical region of

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

, largely corresponding to the

Salento Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino 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, ...

peninsula, anciently part of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

and later of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, which became a province of the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...

. After the unification of Italy in the 1860s, most of the area was renamed as the

Province of Lecce The Province of Lecce ( it, Provincia di Lecce; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy whose capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-p ...

History

Since the eleventh century, have formed an integral part of the Terra d'Otranto the territories of today's provinces of Lecce, Taranto and Brindisi (with the exception of Fasano, Cisternino) and, until 1663, there had also included the territory of Matera. Constituted executioner, the territory remained the administrative organization in the Kingdom of Sicily Kingdom of Naples and the next. Its capital was, at first, Otranto, but, during the

Norman period The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

(twelfth century), the city's canal was replaced by Lecce.

Geography

The Otranto was bounded on the north with the Terra di Bari, Basilicata to the west, with the Ionian Sea to the south and east by the Adriatic Sea. It stretched for about 140 km from the so-called "threshold Messapian" located to the north, to Santa Maria di Leuca south, and on average for about 40 km between the Gulf of Taranto to the west and the Strait of Otranto in the east and then contained the whole Salento peninsula, but also a substantial part of the Murgia, known as the Valle d'Itria, and a part of the Alta Murgia declines towards the Ionian Sea. By Act 132 of 1806 on the division and administration of the provinces of the Kingdom, launched on 8 August of that year, Joseph Bonaparte reformed the territorial division of the Kingdom of Naples on the basis of the French model, and abolished the system of justice. In the following years (between 1806 and 1811), a series of royal decrees completed the path for the establishment of the provinces with the specification of the municipalities covered in them and the definition of territorial boundaries and names of districts and districts in which it was divided each province. From 1 January 1817 the administrative organization was finally regulated with the Law concerning the administrative district of the provinces of the Royal side of Faro Domains on 1 May 1816. The seat of the administrative building was located in Lecce in the Celestine current seat of the prefecture.

Administrative Subdivision

The province was divided into the following hierarchical administrative levels from the previous employees. At the level immediately next to the province to identify the districts, in turn, were divided into districts. The districts were constituted by the municipalities, the basic unit of political and administrative structure of the modern state, which could head to the villages, a predominantly rural centers. The province of Terra d'Otranto, therefore, included the following districts: * District of Lecce, established in 1806 * District of

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

, founded in 1806 * District of

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron 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. Histo ...

, established in 1806 * District of

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

, established in 1806 Each district was divided into districts for a total of 44

Suppression of the province

After the unification of Italy, the Terra d'Otranto was renamed the

. The four districts where his territory was divided into districts remained unchanged and became the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

. During the twentieth century, the historical territory of the province will be dismembered with the creation in 1923, the Province of the Ionian and in 1927, the Province of Brindisi (which were common two aggregates,

Fasano Fasano (; Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brindisi, Apulia, southern Italy. It is the second most populated town in the province after Brindisi, with a population in 2021 of 39,026. History According to a folk etymology, ...

Cisternino Cisternino is a ''comune'' in the province of Brindisi in Apulia, on the coast of south-eastern Italy, approximately north-west of the city of Brindisi. Its main economic activities are tourism, the growing of olives and grapes, and dairy farming ...

, formerly belonging to

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Arms

The coat of arms depicts a dolphin darting in the mouth that has the crescent symbol of the Turks. The crescent was inserted after the expulsion of Muslims at the hands of Alfonso of Aragon, son of King Ferdinand I of Naples took place in 1481, a year after the fall into enemy hands.

Cuisine

its name is also the name of a PDO extra-virgin olive oil called

Terra d'Otranto The Terra di Otranto, or Terra d’Otranto (in English, Land of Otranto), is an historical and geographical region of Apulia, largely corresponding to the Salento peninsula, anciently part of the Kingdom of Sicily and later of the Kingdom of ...

References

{{authority control Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Kingdom of Sicily Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples Salento la:Ager Hydruntinus