Puglia comes from the Latin toponym Apulia (in turn from the Greek Ἰαπυγία, Iapigia) and derives from the ancient population of the Apuli (Greek Iapigi) who in pre-Roman times inhabited the central-northern part of the region (the Dauni to the north, the Peuceti in the centre, while the similar people of the Messapi settled to the south).
According to others, the name derives from A-pluvia (that is, without rain). The absence of watercourses and lakes, in addition to drought, would have induced the ancient populations to define the lands of Puglia in this way. The ancients did not yet know the abundance of water that Puglia preserves under the surface.
Leave a comment