Cutrofiano ( Salentino: ;

Griko Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento (province of Lecce) and (also called Grecanic) in Calabria. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it ( el, ...

: translit. ) is a town and ''

comune 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 ...

'' in 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 ...

in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It is known for its shoes and ceramic production. Main sights include the Mother Church (''Chiesa matrice'', 17th century) and that of the Immaculate Conception (18th century). The economy is mostly based on agriculture (olive oil, wine, cereals, tobacco). Cutrofiano is also a center of ceramics craftmanship.

History

Cutrofiano has been the only town in a group of medieval houses, that survived

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

' attacks. Because of its closeness with a swamp, the town used clay since remote times: the ceramic industry is documented by a lot of earthenware objects found in Cutrofiano and by a Roman furnace that has been discovered during an excavation. In the 1600s, once that Turks' attacks were finished, Cutrofiano started its expansion. Ceramic shops became very important for the town's economy. In 1745–1750, in Cutrofiano there were about 650 inhabitants and 150 of them made a living in the ceramics industry. Cutrofiano has been part of

Soleto Soleto (Griko: ; Salentino: ; la, Soletum) is a small Griko-speaking city located in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. The town has a total population of 5,542 and is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina where the greek dialect Griko ...

's county since 1319, so it started being part of the big possessions of ''Balzo-Orsini'', princes 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 ...

, and ''Conti'' of Lecce. In 1484 the town was given to ''Del Doce-Capece'', that in 1664 gave it to their relatives ''Filomarini'', that kept it until that feudalism was canceled in 1806. A peculiar case, linked to feudal sedition, was the Cutrofiano's wood one, that was part of the big mediterranean wood that in the past filled the low Salento. It extended for 714 ha and it was the main source of timber that served to stoke furnaces to produce earthenware products.

Climate

Cutrofiano is part of the low Salento that has a

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, characterized by mild winters and warm and wet summers. The lowest temperature is about 5°C and the highest is about 40°C.

Etymology

Cutrofiano's name come from terracotta objects, that are typical of the town. Their name is ''cutrubbi'' and they are clay containers (from greek ''kutra'', that means vase). They gave to the town the name of ''Cutrubbiano'' that later was changed with ''Cutrofiano''.

Society

Dialect The dialect spoken in Cutrofiano is the Salentino dialect in its southern variant. Salentino dialect is full of influences linked to the various dominations:

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, Lombard,

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, Albanian, French and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

References

Cities and towns in Apulia Localities of Salento {{Puglia-geo-stub