Valle Della Cupa

Valle della Cupa (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Valley of Cupa) is an area of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

centered on the town of

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

, including the towns of

Trepuzzi Trepuzzi ( Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is l ...

Novoli Novoli (Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. Bounding communes * Arnesano *Campi Salentina * Carmiano *Lecce *Trepuzzi *Veglie Population History The population grew ...

Carmiano Carmiano (Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. Carmiano is in the heart of the province of Lecce and Salento. It is located east of the Ionian Sea (Porto Cesareo) and west of ...

, Arnesano,

Monteroni Monteroni di Lecce ( Salentino: is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce, in Apulia, southern Italy. In 2008, it had 13,800 inhabitants. It is from Lecce, in the Salento – the historic Terra d'Otranto. History Probably the name ...

San Pietro in Lama San Pietro in Lama ( Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Euro ...

Lequile Lequile ( Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. ...

and San Cesario di Lecce. Since the 15th century, the region's

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

has elected the area as their ideal place for countryside life and they have built numerous

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s and

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s. The area is located at the heart of the Salento

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

; a massive rock of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

that divides 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 ...

from the

Ionian sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) 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 C ...

. The area is on the south of the Italian region of

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

. Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Geography of Apulia {{Puglia-geo-stub it:Pianura Salentina#Valle della Cupa