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  Acquarica del Capo
  Acquarica del Capo is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia, south-eastern Italy.
  
  
  
  
  
  wn.com/Acquarica_del_Capo
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  Aegean Sea
  The Aegean Sea (/ɨˈdʒiːən/; Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος, Egeo Pelagos [eˈʝeo ˈpelaɣos] ( listen); Turkish: Ege Denizi or historically Turkish: Adalar Denizi) is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus. The Aegean Islands are within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The Aegean Region consists of nine provinces in southwestern Turkey, in part bordering on the Aegean sea.
  The sea was traditionally known as Archipelago (in Greek, Αρχιπέλαγος, meaning "chief sea"), but in English this word's meaning has changed to refer to the Aegean Islands and, generally, to any island group.
  The Aegean Sea covers about 214,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi) in area, and measures about 610 kilometres (380 mi) longitudinally and 300 kilometres (190 mi) latitudinally. The sea's maximum depth is 3,543 metres (11,624 ft), east of Crete. The Aegean Islands are found within its waters, with the following islands delimiting the sea on the south (generally from west to east): Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes.
  
  wn.com/Aegean_Sea
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  Alessano
  Alessano (Greek: Alexianò) is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, part of Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Alessano
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  Alezio
  Alezio is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Alezio (despite legend assigning its foundation to a king of Crete) was a centre of the Messapi, who would call it Alytia like their former capital in Acarnania. According to Pliny the Elder, the Aletines descended instead from the Iapyges, who descended by the Oscans. It is mentioned as Baletium in the Peutingerian Table (4th century AD). It was a stop on the Via Traiana, who connected ancient Apulia to Rome.
  Around the year 1000, Alezio was destroyed by the Saracens, its inhabitants moving to the Gallipoli island. It remained deserted until the 12th-13th centuries, when a church dedicated to Santa Maria della Alizza or della Lizza was built by some Basilian monks. The new Casal d'Alezio, built around it, remained a small village until the 18th century. It was called Villa Picciotti from the 18th century until 1873, when the Messapic name was restored.
  Within Alezio is a 60 ha (150 acre) region that produces red and rose DOC wines that are a blend with up to 20% Negroamaro, plus Sangiovese, Malvasia and Montepulciano. Harvest yields are limited to 14 tonnes/ha. The wines are aged for a minimum of 2 years prior to release and must contain a minimum alcohol level of 12.5%.
  
  wn.com/Alezio
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  Alliste
  Alliste is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Alliste
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  Andrano
  Andrano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Andrano
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  Apulia
  Coordinates: 41°0′31″N 16°30′46″E / 41.00861°N 16.51278°E / 41.00861; 16.51278
  Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises 19,345 square kilometers (7,469 sq mi), and its population is about 4.1 million. It is bordered by the other Italian regions of Molise to the north, Campania to the west, and Basilicata to the southwest. It neighbors Greece and Albania, across the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, respectively. The region extends as far north as Monte Gargano, and was the scene of the last stages in the Second Punic War.
  Situated at the south-eastern tip of the Italian peninsula, Apulia covers over 19,000 square kilometers (7,336 sq mi) in succession of broad plains and low-lying hills. The central area of the region is occupied by the Murge, a vast, semi-arid karst plateau. The only mountainous areas, the Gargano promontory and the Monti Dauni, do not exceed 1,150 m (3,800 ft) and are to be found in the north of Apulia, which is the least mountainous region in Italy.
  
  wn.com/Apulia
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  Aradeo
  Aradeo (Greek: Arados) is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Aradeo
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  Arnesano
  Arnesano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Arnesano
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  Australia
  Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
  For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
  
  wn.com/Australia
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  Bagnolo del Salento
  Bagnolo del Salento is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Bagnolo_del_Salento
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  Barranquilla
  Barranquilla (Spanish pronunciation: [baraŋˈkiʝa]) is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,885,500 as of 2011 in its metropolitan area, which makes it Colombia's fourth most populous city after Bogotá, Medellín and Cali.
  Barranquilla lies strategically next to the delta of the Magdalena River, 7.5 kilometres (originally 25 km before rapid urban growth) from its mouth at the Caribbean Sea, serving as port for river and maritime transportation within Colombia. It is also the main industrial, shopping, educational and cultural centre of the Caribbean Region of Colombia. The city is the core of the Metropolitan Area of Barranquilla, which is constituted by the municipalities of Soledad, Galapa, Malambo, and Puerto Colombia.
  Barranquilla was legally established as a town on April 7, 1813, although it dated from at least 1629. It grew into an important port, serving as a haven for immigrants from Europe, especially during and right after World War I and World War II, with waves of additional immigrants from the Middle East and Asia. Barranquilla became Colombia's principal port, and with its level of industrialization and modernity earned the city the nickname Colombia's Golden Gate (Spanish: La Puerta de Oro de Colombia). In the 1940s, Barranquilla was the second largest city in Colombia and one of the most modern cities in the Caribbean and in South America, while later, local administrations, given to widespread corruption, brought about a decline in the standard of living. As government investment increased in other Colombian cities, Barranquilla's national position was surpassed.
  
  wn.com/Barranquilla
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  Botrugno
  Botrugno is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  The main sight is the marquisal palace, which was erected in 16th century and restored during the 17th century. It was Castriota Scanderbeg family in 1725 who built the baroque-style balcony.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Botrugno
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  Brindisi
  Brindisi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbrindizi] ( listen); Sicilian: Brìnnisi; Latin: Brundisium) is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city is a major port for trade with Greece and the Middle East. Brindisi has an active industry in agriculture, chemical and energy production.
  Brindisi is situated on a natural harbor, that penetrates deeply into the Adriatic coast of Apulia. Within the arms of the outer harbor islands are Pedagne, a tiny archipelago, currently not open and in use for military purposes (United Nations Group Schools used during the intervention in Bosnia). The entire municipality is part of the Brindisi Plain, characterized by high agricultural uses of its land. It is located in the northeastern part of the Salento plains, about 40 km (24.85 mi) from the Itria Valley, and the low Murge. Not far from the city is the Natural Marine Reserve of the World Wide Fund for Nature of Torre Guaceto. The Ionian Sea is located about 45 km (27.96 mi) away.
  
  wn.com/Brindisi
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  Bristol
  Bristol ⁱ/ˈbrɪstəl/ is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007. It is England's sixth and the United Kingdom's eighth most populous city, one of the group of English Core Cities and the most populous city in South West England.
  Historically within Gloucestershire, the city received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after London, alongside York and Norwich, on the basis of tax receipts, until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century. It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.
  
  wn.com/Bristol
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  Calimera
  Calimera (Καλημέρα, "good morning" in both Greek and Griko) is a small town of 7,296 inhabitants in the Grecìa Salentina area of the Salento peninsula in Italy, located between Gallipoli and Otranto. It belongs to the province of Lecce.
  The inhabitants of Calimera, alongside Italian, also speak Griko, a Greek dialect. The language, folklore, traditions and history of Calimera, like those of the eight other cities in the area called Salentinian Greece, reveal significant Greek influences over the course of time, presumably from the time of the Byzantine control, or even the ancient Magna Graecia colonisation in the 8th century BCE.
  In the park, there is a small monument containing an ancient Attic burial stone, given by the city of Athens to Calimera in 1960. At the top of this monument is a motto, referring to the burial stone: "Zeni su en ise ettù sti Kalimera" (in Greek script: Ζένη 'σού 'εν είσαι ετού στη Καλημέρα), meaning "You are not a stranger here in Calimera", which underlines the close relationship and common origins of Calimera with the rest of Greek civilisation.
  
  wn.com/Calimera
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  Campi Salentina
  Campi Salentina is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Campi_Salentina
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  Cannole
  Cannole is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy, in what could be the "tip" of the "heel" of Italy. It is 29 km south-east of Lecce.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Cannole
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  Caprarica di Lecce
  Caprarica di Lecce is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce. It is located in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Antonio Verri (1949–1993) was a poet and writer who was born in the town.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Caprarica_di_Lecce
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  Carmiano
  Carmiano is a town and comune in the Italian 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 20 km east of the Ionian Sea (Porto Cesareo) and 16 km west of the Adriatic Sea (San Cataldo).
  Its coat of arms contains a tree with a star in a middle bordered with three brown stripes with a yellow gold rim with a golden crown at the top.
  The commune is located in the area called the Valle della Cupa or the Cupa Valley and is siuated northwest of the Salentino cape. The terrain is mainly flat and features olive crops as well as fruits and vegetables along with cattle and others.
  The population has been growing since 1861 and slowed slightly between 1961 and 1981, the population slightly declining by 16 between 1991 and 2001, in the 1930s, it surpassed its neighboring population of Leverano and again surpassed in the mid-2000s where it is at the present level.
  The origin of the communal name probably comes from the colour "carminium" (red), another one that it came from a name of the Roman centurion "Carminius" which assigned to the Roman Senate, the land at the time was in the area of Messapia and was situated in the country.
  
  wn.com/Carmiano
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  Carpignano Salentino
  Carpignano Salentino is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It includes the frazione of Serrano.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Carpignano_Salentino
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  Casarano
  Casarano is a town and sixth most populous comune in the Italian province of Lecce, in the Apulia region of South-East Italy. The town's economy is mostly agriculture-based, with olive oil being the main product. The Church of Santa Maria Della Croce is one of the oldest Christian sites in the world. The population as of December 2004 was 20,544. It is twinned with Charleroi, Belgium.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Casarano
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  Castri di Lecce
  Castri di Lecce, known as Castrì di Lecce (Greek: Kastra), is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Castri_di_Lecce
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  Castrignano del Capo
  Castrignano del Capo is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It has three frazioni: Santa Maria di Leuca, Giuliano, Salignano.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Castrignano_del_Capo
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  Cavallino
  Cavallino (Sybar la:Sybar (Lupiae) Latin) is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  
  wn.com/Cavallino
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  Collepasso
  Collepasso is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Collepasso
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  Colombia
  Colombia ( /kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-LUM-biə, or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-LOM-biə), officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia [reˈpuβlika ðe koˈlombja]), is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the fourth largest in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. With over 46 million people, Colombia is the 27th largest country in the world by population and has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. Colombia is a middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America. Colombia is famous for the production of coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil. All of these products make up the primary sector of economy.
  
  wn.com/Colombia
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  Copertino
  Copertino is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Following Charles of Anjou's successful campaign in 1266, the Hohenstaufen tower of Copertino was held first by the de Pratis family and then by Walter VI of Brienne, Duke of Athens, Duke of Lecce and Grand Constable of France.
  Copertino became the centre of a County under the Enghiens, who were sovereigns of the land of Galatone, Leverano and Veglie. With the marriage of Mary of Enghien, Countess of Lecce and Copertino (later Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Sicily, Jerusalem, and Hungary), with Raimondo del Balzo Orsini, the county became part of the principality of Taranto. The French knight Tristan Chiaromonte (de Clermont-Lodeve) led the development of the county capital, having assumed power over the territory on his marriage to Caterina, daughter of Mary of Enghien. Tristan's daughter Isabella of Taranto, heiress to the Brienne claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, married Ferdinand I of Naples. With the conquest of the Salento pensinsular by the Aragonese dynasty, effected jointly by the Spanish army and knights from Albania, the county was gifted in 1498 to Alfonso Castriota Scanderbeg, in gratitude for military support.
  
  wn.com/Copertino
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  Corsano
  Corsano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  It is located on the last slopes of the Salentine Murge, facing the Adriatic Sea coast. The distance from Lecce is 60 km.
  Corsano was most likely founded in the 8th century, during the Byzantine domination of southern Italy, by Basilian monks. Later it was part of the Principality of Taranto, a semi-independent entity of the Kingdom of Naples, and later was held by numoerous feudal families.
  the most striking sight is the Baronal Castle (17th century).
  
  
  
  wn.com/Corsano
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  Cursi
  Cursi (Greek: Κορσεοί, Korseoi) is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Cursi
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  Cutrofiano
  Cutrofiano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It is known for its shoes and ceramic production.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Cutrofiano
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  Czech Republic
  The Czech Republic (ⁱ/ˈtʃɛk/ CHEK;Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague.
  It is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.
  The Czech state, formerly known as Bohemia, was formed in the late 9th century as a small duchy around Prague, at that time under dominance of the powerful Great Moravian Empire (which reached its greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I from the House of Mojmír). After the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power was transferred from Moravia to Bohemia, under the Přemyslids. During the rule of Přemyslid dukes/kings and their successors, the Luxembourgs, the country reached its greatest territorial extent (13th–14th century). Life in the country was significantly affected by the Hussite wars, during which it faced economic embargo and crusades from all over Europe. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy as one of its three principal parts alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Bohemian Revolt (1618–20) led to the further centralization of the monarchy including forced recatholization and Germanization. During radical reforms in the 18th century the Bohemian Crown was even de facto abolished (1749). In the 19th century the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia which was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
  
  wn.com/Czech_Republic
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  Diso
  Diso (Greek: Dhyssos) is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It is an ancient city, having existed since the early 11th century, and features several churches, buildings and squares.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Diso
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  Florence
  Florence (Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] ( listen), alternate obsolete form: Fiorenza; Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.
  Florence is famous for its history. A centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy.
  The historic centre of Florence attracts millions of tourists each year, and Euromonitor International ranked the city as the world's 72nd most visited in 2009, with 1,685,000 visitors. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and the city is noted for its history, culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace, amongst others, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics.
  
  wn.com/Florence
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  Gagliano del Capo
  Gagliano del Capo is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  wn.com/Gagliano_del_Capo
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  Galatina
  Galatina (Greek: Galatini), known before the unification of Italy as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in Apulia.
  Among the most important cities in Salento, it is situated some 21 km south of the city of Lecce.
  In the neighbourhood is the small church of St. Paul. It houses a pump which, according to the tradition, was able to heal people bitten by poisonous animals (called tarantati in the local dialect).
  Galatina has a station on the Ferrovie Sud-Est line to Lecce. Road connections include the SS16 Adriatica state highway (from Maglie to Lecce), the SS101 state road, also to Lecce, and the SS 613 Brindisi-Lecce highway.
  Near Galatina there is the static inverter plant of HVDC Italy-Greece.
  vep:Galatina
  
  wn.com/Galatina
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  Galatone
  Galatone is a town and comune located in Salento, in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), ancient seat of the Marquess of Galatone.
  In the Middle Ages, Galatone was a Greek center: the Greek language was spoken and Byzantine rites were celebrated in churches up to the end of the 14th century. Greek scholar Antonio de Ferraris ("il Galateo") was born here during the Renaissance, and was author of an important historical and geographical study of the Salentine peninsula.
  The main attraction of the town is the Santuario del Crocifisso della Pietà, a Baroque church built between 1696 and 1710. It has a three-level façade richly decorated, as is the interior, surmounted by a magnificent paneled ceiling and a large frescoed cupola. Facing the Sanctuary stands a 14th century castle, seat of the family of Squarciafico, Marquesses of Galatone, ancestors of the Princes of Belmonte. Other churches include the Chiesa Maggiore (1574–95), the Church of Dominicans (1612–1712) and the small Chapel of S. Pietro, also in the Baroque style. Near Galatone lie the hermitage of S. Nicola dei Pergoleti, the small 13th century Dell'Itria Church. At Fulcignano can be found the remains of a Norman Castle. And, the old bakery, the seat of the English Baker of Puglia and centre of the world.
  
  wn.com/Galatone
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  Giuggianello
  Giuggianello is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Giuggianello
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  Giurdignano
  Giurdignano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  The human presence in the area of Giurdignano dates to as early as the Bronze Age, as testified by the presence of numerous menhirs and dolmens. Later it was conquered by the Romans (archaeological findings include a 2nd-3rd century AD necropolis).
  Later it was part of the Byzantine Empire until the Normans conquered it in the 11th century.
  The territory of Giurdignano is characterized by the greatest presence of menhir and dolmen in Italy, the total exceeding 25.
  Other sights include the 18th century Mothern Church, the crypt of San Salvatore (8th-10th centuries, an example of Byzantine rock-carved chapel), the remains of the Abbey of Centoporte, and the 16th century Baronal Palace.
  
  
  
  
  
  wn.com/Giurdignano
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  Guagnano
  Guagnano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Guagnano
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  Italian Peninsula
  The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula, also Italy (Italian: Penisola italiana or Penisola appenninica) is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe (the other two being the Iberian Peninsula and Balkan Peninsula), spanning 1,000 km (620 mi) from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale (The Boot). Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this characteristic shape, namely Calabria, Salento and Gargano.
  Since the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus (end of first century BCE), the northern border of the peninsula has been set on the Alps watershed, but geographically it coincides with a line extending from the Magra to the Rubicone rivers, north of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, which excludes the Po Valley and the southern slope of the Alps.
  Nearly all of the peninsula is part of the state of the Italian Republic, apart from San Marino and the Vatican City. Additionally, Sicily, Elba, Malta (an independent state), and other smaller islands, as Palagruža (It. Pelagosa), belonging to Croatia, are usually considered as islands off the peninsula and in this sense geographically grouped along with it.
  
  wn.com/Italian_Peninsula
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  Italy
  Italy ⁱ/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
  Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
  
  wn.com/Italy
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  Kingdom of Sicily
  The Kingdom of Sicily (Italian: Regno di Sicilia, Latin: Regnum Siciliae, Sicilian: Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. Until 1282 the Kingdom (sometimes called the regnum Apuliae et Siciliae) covered not only the island of Sicily, but also the whole Mezzogiorno region of southern Italy and the Maltese archipelago. The island was divided into three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto.
  In 1282 a revolt against the Angevin rule, known as the Sicilian Vespers, threw off Charles of Anjou's rule of the island of Sicily. The Angevins managed to maintain control in the mainland part of the kingdom, which became a separate entity also styled Kingdom of Sicily, although it is commonly referred to as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital. The island became a separate kingdom as a kingdom of the Crown of Aragon. After 1302 the island kingdom was sometimes called the Kingdom of Trinacria. Often the kingship was vested in another monarch such as the King of Aragon, the King of Spain or the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1816 the island Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1861 its areas were united with the Kingdom of Italy.
  
  wn.com/Kingdom_of_Sicily
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  Lecce
  Lecce (Italian: [ˈlettʃe] ( listen), Griko: Luppìu, Ancient Greek: Ἀλήσιον) is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia. It is the main city of the Salentine Peninsula, a sub-peninsula at the heel of the Italian Peninsula and is over 2,000 years old.
  Because of the rich Baroque architectural monuments found in the city, Lecce is commonly nicknamed "The Florence of the South". The city also has a long traditional affinity with Greek culture going back to its foundation; the Messapii who founded the city are said to have been Cretans in Greek records. To this day, in the Grecìa Salentina, a group of towns not far from Lecce, the griko language is still spoken.
  In terms of industry the "Lecce stone" is the city's main export, because it is very soft and malleable, thus suitable for sculptures. Lecce stone is a kind of limestone. Lecce is also an important agricultural centre, chiefly for its olive oil and wine production, as well as an industrial centre specialising in ceramic production.
  
  wn.com/Lecce
• Lecce Cathedral
  Lecce Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Lecce; Cattedrale dell'Assunzione della Virgine) is the cathedral of the city of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Lecce.
  The cathedral was first built in 1144, with repairs in 1230. It was rebuilt in 1659 by the architect Giuseppe Zimbalo by order of bishop Luigi Pappacoda, whose remains are kept in the altar dedicated to Saint Orontius of Lecce (Sant'Oronzo), the patron saint of the city.
  The cathedral has two entrances. The principal one is on the north side of the church, the other on the square onto which it faces. The principal façade is sober and elegant, while the second portal is a masterpiece of Baroque art with statues representing Saint Orontius between Saint Justus and Saint Fortunatus.
  The church is built on a Latin cross plan with a nave and two aisles, separated by pillars and pilasters. The central nave and the transept are covered by a wooden ceiling in which are paintings representing the Martyrdom of Saint Orontius and the Last Supper. There are twelve altars. In the cathedral square are other monuments: the bell tower, the bishop's palace and the seminary.
  
  wn.com/Lecce_Cathedral
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  Lequile
  Lequile is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Leverano
  Leverano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the southeastern part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy. In 2001 its population was 13,981.
  Leverano was severely destroyed by the Ostrogoth Totila, it was also destroyed by the Arabs in the 9th century. A tower was later built in 1220 and it protected against pirate raids. The tower is built with Norman architecture.
  The area around Leverano produces both red, white and rose Italian DOC wine, though the region produces vastly more red wine than anything else. The grapes are limited to a harvest yield of 15 tonnes/ha. Red wines must have a finished alcohol level of at least 12% and are composed of at least 65% Negroamaro and up to 35$ of the assorted blend of Malvasia, Sangiovese and Montepulciano. White wines must have a minimum alcohol level of at least 11% and be composed of at least 65% Malvasia Bianca with Trebbiano and Bombino Bianco allowed to make up the remaining 35%.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Leverano
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  Lizzanello
  Lizzanello is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Maglie
  Maglie is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  The Maglie area was settled as early as the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age, and before, as testified by the presence of archaic dolmens and menhirs, and by the Cattìe site, discovered in 1980, and featuring 12,000 tools and 800 bone remains.
  Maglie, initially a countriside casale, developed around the castle built in the 13th century, probably under the Angevine kings of Naples and later renewed by Andriolo Lubello, the local baron under king Alfonso I of Aragon.
  Maglie's economy is based on commerce, craftmanship (especially of local stone), and tourism.
  Maglie is served by the Ferrovie Sud Est Zollino-Gagliano and Maglie-Otranto lines.
  It is crossed by two state roads, the SS16 Adriatica Lecce-Maglie-Otranto, and the SS275 from Santa Maria di Leuca.
  Francesca Capece's statue in Aldo Moro Square.
  Cathedral's bell tower.
  Façade of the liceo ginnasio "Francesca Capece".
  Santa Maria delle Grazie Church
  
  wn.com/Maglie
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  Martano
  Martano is a town and comune of 9,573 inhabitants in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy 20 km from Lecce and 18 km from Otranto. It is the biggest town of Grecìa Salentina, a Greek-speaking area where the elders can also speak an ancient dialect called griko.
  The main attraction is the medieval castle in the old town centre, largely rebuilt in the 15th century retaining some features of the previous century, while the biggest churches are those devoted to the Mother of the Assumption and to Madonna del Rosario. The town also owns the highest menhir in Apulia (Santu Totaru menhir, 4.80 m) and an ancient Cistercians monastery devoted to the Mother of the Consolation.
  The list of famous people whom Martano gave birth includes Giuseppe Grassi, who signed the Constitution of Italy in 1948, Salvatore Trinchese, marine biologist of the 19th century and Cosimo Moschettini, agricultural scientist of the Enlightenment.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Martano
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  Martignano
  Martignano is a small town and comune of 1,770 inhabitants in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. It is part of Salento and is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina, an area where an ancient Greek dialect is spoken.
  Marquess Giuseppe Palmieri (Martignano, 1721 - Naples, 1793) was one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment in Southern Italy.
  MIRA - Martignano International Residency for Artists
  
  
  
  wn.com/Martignano
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  Matino
  Matino is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Matino
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  Melbourne
  Melbourne ([ˈmelbən, -bn̩, ˈmæl-],rhotically  /ˈmɛlbərn/) is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2010, the greater geographical area had an approximate population of four million. Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melburnians or Melbournians.
  The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River (at the northernmost point of the bay). The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. The city centre is situated in the municipality known as the City of Melbourne, and the metropolitan area consists of a further 30 municipalities.
  Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of Australia) by settlers from Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. It was named by governor Richard Bourke in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb—the 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847. In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.
  
  wn.com/Melbourne
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  Melendugno
  Melendugno is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  It is known for its marine, bathing localities of the Adriatic Sea: Roca Vecchia, San Foca, Torre dell'Orso and Torre Sant'Andrea, which were awarded the European Blue Flag prize for their limpid sea. Melendugno also includes the frazione of Borgagne.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Melendugno
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  Melissano
  Melissano (Greek: Melissane) is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Melissano
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  Melpignano
  Melpignano is a small town and comune in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. It is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina. Melpignano has a population of 2,209 inhabitants (called Melpignanesi) and an area of 10.93 square kilometers thus showing a population density of 202,1 inhabitants per square kilometer. It rises 89 metres above the sea level.
  There are 84 industrial firms employing 474 people that are the 60,69 % of the total of the workers. There are 50 service firms employing 165 people that are the 21,13 % of the total of the workers. There are also 39 firms employing 89 people that are the 11,40 % of the total of the workers. There are also 23 administrative offices employing 53 workers that are the 6,79 % of the total of the workers.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Melpignano
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  Miggiano
  Miggiano is an Italian town of 3,702 inhabitants of the province of Lecce in Puglia . Located in the lower Salento, a few kilometers from the Adriatic coast, 50 km from the chieftown and 22 km from Santa Maria di Leuca. Since 2003 has the title of City. The town of Miggiano, located in the central part of the Capo di Leuca at the foot of the Serre Salento, has a flat shape and is between 101 and 115 meters above sea level . The territory, both in terms of geological morphology, the surface is composed of limestone Melissano formed in the Cretaceous . The nature of karst terrain favors the creation of long underground rivers that feed the aquifers . The town, whose area covers about 7.64 km ², bordered to the north Montesano Salentino, in the east Tricase south with Mirror, on the west by Ruffano.
  Climate
  The weather station of reference is that of Santa Maria di Leuca . According to climate averages 1971 - the two thousandth, the temperature average of the coldest month, February, is +10.0 °C, while the hottest month, August, is +25.3 °C average is count zero frost days per year and 20 days with maximum temperature greater than or equal to +30 °C. The extremes of temperature recorded in the same thirty years are -2.8 °C of the January 1979 and +39.6 °C of July 1988 . The rainfall annual average stood at 563 mm, medium distributed in 61 rainy days, with minimum in summer and peak in autumn - winter . Below is the table with the climatic averages and maximum and minimum values recorded in absolute trantennio 1971st - 2000 and published in the Atlas of Climate Italy's Air Force Meteorological Service on the same three decades.
  
  wn.com/Miggiano
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  Minervino di Lecce
  Minervino di Lecce is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is situated in the eastern part of the Salento peninsula about 43 km from Lecce, not far from Otranto.
  The Dolmen Li Scusi, in the town's countryside towards Uggiano La Chiesa, is the largest dolmen in Apulia after that of Bisceglie. The frazione of Cocumola is home to numerous Messapic granarys (locally known as fogge) and several menhirs.
  
  
  
  
  wn.com/Minervino_di_Lecce
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  Monteroni di Lecce
  Monteroni di Lecce is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia, southern Italy town with ca. 13,600 inhabitants. It is located at 7 km from Lecce, in the area called Salento (reported until recently also as Terra d'Otranto).
  Probably the name Monteroni comes from Latin Mons Tyronum, meaning "mount of the spear-men" and hinting its origin as a training camp for the Roman legions. In fact originally the Romans apparently established a military stronghold on the hill nowadays called San Filii. From this era of romanisation of the region, coins and other archaeological material has been found and studied.
  During the Norman period, the fiefdom of Monteroni was part of the County of Lecce. In 1250 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (and also sovereign of the Kingdom of Sicily) granted the fiefdom to the De Cremona family, followed in this feudal office by the Montoroni family who held it until the 16th century. The Montoroni built the first Baronial Palace in the town in the original shape of a small fortress.
  
  wn.com/Monteroni_di_Lecce
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  Montesano Salentino
  Montesano Salentino is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Montesano_Salentino
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  Morciano di Leuca
  Morciano di Leuca is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  The origins of Morciano di Leuca probably go back to the 9th century AD, with the destruction of the city by the Saracens. In 1190 King Tancredi of Sicily gave Sinibaldo Sambiasi the fief of Morciano, which remained under his family until the 13th century. Later it was acquired by other barons, including Walter VI of Brienne (1335).
  
  
  
  
  
  wn.com/Morciano_di_Leuca
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  Murcia
  Murcia (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmurθja]), a major city in south-eastern Spain, is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country, with a population of 442,573 inhabitants in 2009 (about one third of the total population of the Region). The population of the metropolitan area was 689,591 in 2010. It is located on the Segura River, in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, noted by a mild climate with hot summers, tepid winters and scarce precipitation.
  Murcia was founded by the emir of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman II in 825 AD with the name Mursiya مورسيا and is now mainly a services city and a university town. Highlights for visitors include the Cathedral of Murcia and a number of baroque buildings, renowned local cuisine, Holy Week processions, works of art by the famous Murcia sculptor Francisco Salzillo, and the Fiestas de Primavera (Spring Festival).
  The city, as the capital of the comarca Huerta de Murcia is called Europe’s orchard due to its long agricultural tradition and as a fruits, vegetables and flowers producer and exporter.
  
  wn.com/Murcia
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  Muro Leccese
  Muro Leccese is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Muro_Leccese
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  Nardò
  Nardò is a town and comune of 31,185 inhabitants and comune in the southern Italian region of Apulia, in the province of Lecce.
  Traces of human presence in the area dates from Palaeolithic times. The settlement was founded by the Messapi around the year 1000 BC. The Romans conquered it in 269 BC and built the Via Traiana through it. After the fall of the Western Empire it was under the Byzantines and the Lombards.
  In 1055 the Normans captured Nardò. Their heirs were ousted by the Angevines in 1266. In 1497 the Aragonese gave it to Andrea Matteo Acquaviva, whose son Belisario was the first Duke of Nardò, and promoted the Renaissance in the city.
  In 1647 the city rebelled against the Spanish domination, but the viceroyal troops suppressed the riot with heavy terms.
  The town counts 11 civil parishes (frazioni): Boncore, Cenate, Pagani, Palude del Capitano, Portoselvaggio, Roccacannuccia, Santa Caterina, Sant'Isidoro, Santa Maria al Bagno, Torre Inserraglio, Torre Uluzzo and Villaggio Resta.
  The area around Nardò produces red and rose Italian DOC wines. The grapes are limited to a harvest yield of 18 tonnes/ha with the finished needing a minimum alcohol level of 12.5%. The wines are primarily composed of 80-100% Negroamaro with Montepulciano and Malvasia Nera permitted to fill in the remaining 20%.
  
  wn.com/Nardò
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  Neviano
  Neviano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Neviano
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  Nociglia
  Nociglia is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Nociglia
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  Novoli
  Novoli is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  The population grew until the 1951 census, after the increasing trend, the population fell slowly mainly by emigration to other parts of Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Novoli
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  Ortelle
  Ortelle is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.But Vignacastrisi is bigger than Ortelle.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Ortelle
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  Ostrów Wielkopolski
  Ostrów Wielkopolski [ˈɔstruf vʲɛlkɔˈpɔlskʲi] (often abbreviated Ostrów Wlkp., formerly called only Ostrów or Ostrowo, Latin: Ostrovia) is a town in central Poland with 72,360 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostrów Wielkopolski County.
  Recently, a small fortified dwelling dating from the 10th century was discovered on the north-east side of the town's limits. An archeological excavation is now in progress.
  Ostrów received town privileges in 1404 but the economic stagnation caused by fires, wars, and a weak 16th century nobility, led to the town’s officials dropping its town status in 1711. In 1714, one of the nobility of Ostrów, Jan Jerzy Przebendowski intervened at the royal court, for the status to be reinstated. By the power of a Royal Marshall (English: Marshal), Franciszek Bielinski, the town received its status back with greater privileges. Another noble family, the Radziwiłłowie took patronage over the town and looked over its many investments. The care of the town’s owners, work of its people, dedication of its officials and its location, have favored the town’s continuous growth. In Ostrów, a railroad hub was formed and became a vital point of the town’s development. It also helped to establish its prominent status on the local and national scene. During the time of Partition and both World Wars, the town had become an important source for nationalist movements. One of the town’s historic episodes was the so called Republic of Ostrów (Republika Ostrowska), which was the citizens’ upheaval of 1918. No blood was shed at that upheaval and all political powers were taken over from the Prussian authorities. In between the First and Second WW, Ostrów was one of the fastest growing towns: the number of inhabitants doubled, showy houses were built and modern Railcar Manufacturing (Fabryka Wagon) began.
  
  wn.com/Ostrów_Wielkopolski
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  Otranto
  Otranto (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɔːtranto]; Latin: Hydruntum) is a town and comune in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.
  It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and Italy with Albania. The harbour is small and has little trade.
  The lighthouse Faro della Palascìa, at approximately 5 km southeast of Otranto, marks the most easterly point of the Italian mainland.
  About 50 km south lies the promontory of Santa Maria di Leuca (so called since ancient times from its white cliffs, leukos being Greek for white), the southeastern extremity of Italy, the ancient Promontorium lapygium or Sallentinum. The district between this promontory and Otranto is thickly populated and very fertile.
  Otranto occupies the site of the ancient Hydrus (in Greek: Ὑδροῦς) or Hydruntum (in Latin), also known as Hydrunton, Hydronton, or Hydruntu. Otranto was a town of Greek origin, which, in the wars of Pyrrhus and of Hannibal sided against Rome.
  
  wn.com/Otranto
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  Palermo
  Palermo (Italian: [paˈlɛrmo] ( listen), Sicilian: Palermu, Latin: Panormus, from Greek: Πάνορμος, Panormos, Arabic: بَلَرْم‎, Balarm; Phoenician: זִיז, Ziz) is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
  The city was founded by the Phoenicians, but named by the Ancient Greeks as Panormus meaning 'always fit for landing in.' Palermo became part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire, for over a thousand years. From 827 to 1071 it was under Arab rule during the Emirate of Sicily when it first became a capital. Following the Norman reconquest, Palermo became capital of a new kingdom (from 1130 to 1816), the Kingdom of Sicily. Eventually it would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.
  
  wn.com/Palermo
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  Palmariggi
  Palmariggi is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Parabita
  Parabita is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.^{[citation needed]}
  
  wn.com/Parabita
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  Patù
  Patù is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Puglia region, south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Patù
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  Poggiardo
  Poggiardo is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. An old messapian town, Vaste, is located in its territory as a frazione.
  
  
  
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  Poland
  Poland ⁱ/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
  
  wn.com/Poland
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  Porto Cesareo
  Porto Cesareo is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Torre Cesarea
  Torre Chianca
  Torre Lapillo
  Torre Castiglione
  
  
  
  wn.com/Porto_Cesareo
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  Prague
  Prague ( /ˈprɑːɡ/; Czech: Praha pronounced [ˈpraɦa] ( listen)) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and fourteenth largest city in European Union. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of nearly 2.0 million. The city has a temperate oceanic climate with warm summers and chilly winters.
  Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its 1,100 year existence. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus then also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire and after World War I became the capital of Czechoslovakia. The city played major roles in the Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War, and in modern history generally as the principal conurbation in Bohemia and Moravia whose second city is Brno.
  
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  Presicce
  Presicce is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Province of Lecce
  The Province of Lecce (Italian: Provincia di Lecce) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. Totally included in the Salento peninsula, it is the second most populous province in Apulia and the twenty-first most populous in Italy.
  It has an area of 2,759 km² and a total population of 813,556 (12-31-2009). There are 97 comunes (Italian: comuni) in the province, see Comunes of the Province of Lecce. As of 2009, the main communes by population were:
  Basilic of Santa Croce, Lecce
  Piazza Duomo, Lecce
  Acaya castle
  Otranto seaside
  Otranto seaside
  Cathedral of Otranto
  Torre Sant'Emiliano, not far from the Palascìa lighthouse
  Torre dell'Orso beach
  XVI century tower in Torre dell'Orso
  XVI century tower in Roca Vecchia
  Salandra square in Nardò
  Gallipoli harbour
  Le Puritate beach in Gallipoli
  Cathedral of Ugento
  
  
  wn.com/Province_of_Lecce
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  Racale
  Racale is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Rome
  Rome (/ˈroʊm/; Italian: Roma pronounced [ˈroːma] ( listen); Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune ("Roma Capitale") in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and the capital of Lazio (Latin: Latium). With 2.8 million residents in 1,285.3 km² (496.3 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Between 3.2 and 3.7 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.
  Rome's history spans two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD and the city is regarded as one of the birthplaces of western civilization. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.
  
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  Ruffano
  Ruffano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce. in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.
  
  
  
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  Salento
  Salento (Salentu in local dialect) is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot". It encompasses the entire administrative area of the province of Lecce, a large part of the administrative area of Brindisi and part of that of Taranto. The peninsula is also known as Terra d'Otranto, and in ancient times was called variously Messapia, Calabria, and Salentina.
  Messapia (from Greek Μεσσαπία) was the ancient name of a region of Italy largely corresponding to modern Salento. It was inhabited chiefly by the Messapii in classical times. Pokorny derives the toponym from PIE *medhyo-, "middle" and PIE *ap-, "water" (Mess-apia, "amid waters"; Note: the asterisk before a word indicates that it is a hypothetical construction, not an attested form). Pokorny compares the toponym Messapia to another ancient Italic toponym, Salapia, "salt water", a city in Apulia.
  Salento peninsula is a rock of limestone dividing the Adriatic Sea from the Ionian Sea. Known also as "peninsula salentina", from a geo-morphologic point of view it encompasses the land borders between Ionian sea and the Adriatic sea to the “Messapic threshold”, a depression that runs along the Taranto-Ostuni line and separates it from the Murge. Its borders are:
  
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  Salice Salentino
  Salice Salentino is a small town and comune in the southern part of Apulia, Italy, in the Salento area. It is bounded with the province of Taranto to the northwest and the province of Brindisi to the north.
  Its coat of arms features a tree in the middle of a shield and a golden crown on top.
  The population grew until the 1951 census, after the increasing trend, the population fell slowly mainly by emigration to other parts of Italy.
  Founded by the prince Raimondo Orsini Del Balzo in the end of the 14th century, Salice Salentino owns the name to the willow trees that once used to grow and populate its muddy, clay soil. The prince constructed his residence, the "Casa del Re" (House of the King). It was later owned by the baron Zurlo in 1485. It was passed on to the marquis Albricci, Enriquez, prince of Squinzano, Filomarini, duke of Cutrofiano and della Torre.
  Its main economy is agriculture in the olive and wine industry.
  It is famous for its own wine, Salice Salentino.
  
  
  
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  San Cassiano
  San Cassiano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Media related to San Cassiano at Wikimedia Commons
  
  
  
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  San Cesario di Lecce
  San Cesario di Lecce is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  San Donato di Lecce
  San Donato di Lecce is a town and comune of 5,837 inhabitants in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It includes the frazione of Galugnano.
  
  
  
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  San Pietro in Lama
  San Pietro in Lama is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Its Mother Church is a typical example of Leccese Baroque.
  
  
  
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  Sanarica
  Sanarica is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Sannicola
  Sannicola is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Sannicola the town contains an old Roman defensive tower to protect it against Saracene and Byzantine invaders.
  
  
  
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  Santa Cesarea Terme
  Santa Cesarea Terme is a town and comune of 3,100 inhabitants in province of Lecce, in Apulia, southern Italy.
  Situated on the coast at the beginning of the Otranto canal on a terrace of the coast which comes down to the sea, the town of Santa Cesarea is one of the most important centres of care of Salento. The exploitation of the waters, coming from four caves, dates back to 1500 and on these caves is based the economy of the whole town with the constitution of different thermal establishments equipped for the caring of the baths and the muds with the possibility of other therapies.
  An ancient local legend claims that the area got its name because a young woman called Cisaria fled from her abusive father and hiding in one of the many grottos, lost her life when she slipped and fell into the hot waters below, an alternative version of the legend claims that it was the pursuing father who slipped and died.
  A relatively new town, its development on a rocky coastline, riddled with underground caverns and fissured rock strata was encouraged by the presence of hot natural springs. These hot mineral springs, with thermal waters rich in iodine, sulphurs and sodium chloride, rising up through the porous bedrock of the area from deep underground, have formed a network of aquifers that puncture the underlying rock strata before draining through cave systems into the cold salty waters of the Adriatic Sea.
  
  wn.com/Santa_Cesarea_Terme
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  Scorrano
  Scorrano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Italian singer Dolcenera is from here.
  
  
  
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  Seclì
  Seclì (Greek: Sikleion) is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Skopje
  Skopje (Macedonian: Скопје, [ˈskɔpjɛ] ( listen)) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi.
  The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans and became a military camp. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992. From 1282 the town was part of the Serbian realm and its capital city since 1346. In 1392 the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks who called the town Üsküp. The town stayed under Ottoman control over 500 years, serving as the capital of pashasanjak of Üsküb and later the Vilayet of Kosovo. At that time the city was famous for its oriental architecture. In 1912 the city was conquered by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars and after the First World War the city became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia). In the Second World War the city was conquered by the Bulgarian Army, which was part of Axis powers. In 1944 it became the capital city of Democratic Macedonia (later Socialist Republic of Macedonia), which was a federal state, part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (later Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake. In 1991 it became the capital city of independent Macedonia.
  
  wn.com/Skopje
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  Sogliano Cavour
  Sogliano Cavour is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Soleto
  Soleto is a small Griko-speaking city located in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. The town has a total population of 5,537 and is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina.
  In the 5th century, Soleto was probably elevated to bishopric seat, of Greek rite. In the 13th century the Angevine rules of Naples chose the city a capital of a county, ruled by the di Castro, Del Balzo, Orsini, Campofregoso, Castriota and Sanseverino, Carafa and Gallarati-Scotti families, until feudalism was abrogated in 1806. Soleto took part to the Neapolitan Republic of 1799 and a was a center of Carboneria during the Italian Risorgimento. It was ruled in the Middle Ages by Count Gjon Kastrioti II (the Roman numeral is related to the Kastrioti dynasty, not the county), son of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg.
  The Soleto Map was discovered in Soleto by Belgian archaeologist Thierry van Compernolle of Montpellier University on August 21, 2003.
  
  
  
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  Spain
  Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
  Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
  
  wn.com/Spain
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  Specchia
  Specchia is a town and comune in the province of Lecce. in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.
  
  
  
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  Spongano
  Spongano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Squinzano
  Squinzano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Squinzano is also a specific area within the Puglia wine region. Squinzano DOC is produced in red and rosé versions, and is obtained principally from the Negro Amaro grape, with a small addition of Malvasia Nera di Brindisi and Malvasia Nera di Lecce.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Sternatia
  Sternatia is a small town and comune in the province of Lecce, Apulia, southern Italy. It is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Supersano
  Supersano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Surano
  Surano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Surbo
  Surbo (Greek: Syrvos) is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Taurisano
  Taurisano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  As of December 2010^[update], the population was 12,675. Nearby towns are Acquarica del Capo, Casarano, Ruffano and Ugento.
  The town of Taurisano is the place of birth of the philosopher Giulio Cesare Vanini.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Taviano
  Taviano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Tiggiano
  Tiggiano is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Trepuzzi
  Trepuzzi is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Tricase
  Tricase is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It is located in the Salento traditional region.
  Tricase is the site of a castle and of a Quercia Vallonea, an oak which is amongst the oldest trees in Italy, dating from the 13th century.
  After World War II, a refugee camp was set up at Tricase, sometimes referred to as Tricase Porto or Tricasi displaced persons camp.
  
  
  
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  Tuglie
  Tuglie is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  Hometown of the painting artist Giuseppe Miggiano, son of Italian immigrant worker in Belgium, his work can be see in the Charleroi neighborhood in Belgium.
  
  
  
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  Ugento
  Ugento is a town and comune in Italy. It has a small harbour, and is situated in the province of Lecce, in Apulia, on the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea). It includes the frazioni of Gemini and Torre San Giovanni.
  The city is the ancient Uxentum, and claims to have been founded by Uxens, who is mentioned in the Eighth Book of the Æneid. In ancient times it was an important city. In 1537 it was sacked by the Turks. Under Byzantine domination it had Greek bishops.
  Economy is mostly based on agriculture (wine and olives), fishing, shepherding, food processing and tourism.
  
  
  
  
  
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  Uggiano la Chiesa
  Uggiano la Chiesa is a town and comune in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  4 km outside the town is the menhir of San Giovanni Malcantone, standing at more than 4 m.
  
  
  
  
  
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  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
  The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
  
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  Valladolid
  Valladolid (Spanish: [baʎaðoˈlið] ( listen)) is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales. It is the capital of the province of Valladolid.
  One line of etymological argument suggests that the modern name "Valladolid" derives from a Celtiberian language expression, Vallis Tolitum ("Waters Valley"), due to the confluence of rivers. Another, more generally accepted derivation is from the demonym Vallisoletano, which was, in fact, the Spanish demonym of the city, and means "from sunny valley". Supporting this are texts from the Middle Ages, which use Vallisoletum, a word which continued to be used as late as the 16th century (see painting by Braun and Hogenberg).
  It is also popularly called Pucela, a nickname whose origin is not clear, but probably refers to a few knights who accompanied Joan of Arc, known as La Pucelle. Another theory is that Pucela comes from the fact that Puzzeli's cement was sold there, the only city in Spain that sold it.
  
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  Veglie
  Veglie is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. Veglie is located 20 km west of Lecce and 12 km east of the sea, the Gulf of Taranto.
  Veglie was founded around the 10th century. Veglie was a small village.
  The tomb founded in Via Novoli in 1957 dates back to the Messapic times it is displayed in a provincial museum. Regarding the name, Francesco Ribezzo think that the origin of the name comes from the pre-Messapic "vel" of the Mediterranean origin meaning "elevation".
  Its main industry are agriculture which features olive and wine production and manufacturers. Ice cream is also produced in the village.
  
  
  
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  Vernole
  Vernole is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.
  
  
  
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  Verona
  Verona (Italian pronunciation: [veˈroːna] ( listen); Venetian Verona (pron. Veròna); German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of northeast Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km² (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy, owing to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows, and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans.
  The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture.
  The precise details of Verona's early history remain a mystery. The origin of the name Verona is also unknown. One theory is it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani (550 BC). With the conquest of the Vaecame Roman (about 300 BC) Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC; Verona had the franchise in 59.
  
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  Zollino
  Zollino is a small town and comune of 2,194 inhabitants in the province of Lecce in Apulia, Italy. It is one of the nine towns of Grecìa Salentina, which still keeps Greek language and traditions.
  Zollino's territory was settled in pre-historic times, as attested by the presence of dolmens and menhirs in the area. Its foundation origin is not clear: it could be a Iapygian colony from the nearby Apigliano, or a rural offshoot of Soleto. In historical ancient times it was an important trade centre between the Ionian and the Adriatic coasts.
  In the Middle Ages, it belonged to the county of Lecce founded by the Hauteville Normands. In 1190 king Tancred of Sicily donated it to Berlinghiero Chiaromonte. After belonging to the Principality of Taranto, in 1463 it became a possession of Raimondello Orsini del Balzo. Afterwards the latter's death Zollino was again a direct royal possession and, later, a fief of the Granafei marquisses of Sternatia.
  Zollino has a station on the Lecce-Gallipoli and Zollino-Gagliano del Capo railroads, served by the Ferrovie del Sud Est.
  
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  Aldo Moro
  Aldo Moro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈaldo ˈmɔːro]; September 23, 1916 – May 9, 1978) was an Italian politician and the 39th Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976. He was one of Italy's longest-serving post-war Prime Ministers, holding power for a combined total of more than six years.
  A leader of Democrazia Cristiana (Christian Democracy, DC), Moro was considered an intellectual and a patient mediator, especially in the internal life of his party. He was kidnapped on March 16, 1978, by the left-wing Red Brigades (BR), and killed after 55 days of captivity.
  Moro was born in Maglie, in the province of Lecce (Puglia), into a family from Ugento. At 4, he moved with his family to Milan, but they soon moved back to Puglia, where he gained a classical high school degree at Archita lyceum in Taranto. Till 1939 he studied Law at the University of Bari, an institution where he was later to hold the post of ordinary professor of philosophy of Law and Colonial Policy (1941) and of Criminal Law (1942).
  
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  Andrew Avellino
  Saint Andrew (Andrea) Avellino (1521 – November 10, 1608) was an Italian saint. Born at Castronuovo, (today Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea) a small town in Sicily, his baptismal name was Lancelotto, which out of love for the cross he changed into Andrew when he entered the Order of Theatines.
  From his early youth he was a great lover of chastity. After receiving his elementary training in the school of Castronuovo, he was sent to Venice to pursue a course in the humanities and in philosophy. Being a handsome youth, his chastity was often exposed to danger from female admirers, and to escape their importunities he took ecclesiastical tonsure.
  Hereupon he went to Naples to study canon and civil law, obtained the degree of Doctor of Laws and was ordained priest at the age of twenty-six. For some time he held the office of lawyer at the ecclesiastical court of Naples. One day, while pleading the cause of a friend, a lie escaped his lips in the heat of argument. When, soon afterwards, his eyes fell upon the passage in the Bible, "The mouth that beleith,killeth the soul."
  
  wn.com/Andrew_Avellino
• Antonio Amantea
  Sottotenente Antonio Amantea was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He lived to become the last surviving Italian ace of the war.
  Amantea was working as an electrician when he was conscripted into Italian military in September 1914. He volunteered for aviation. A year later, on 1 September 1915, Sergente Amantea pinned on his wings. His first assignment was to fly artillery spotting missions in a Caudron G-3 on the Isonzo front. He flew 173 combat sorties over the next few months before being picked for fighter training in February 1917. In late March, he returned to action as a member of 71a Squadriglia, flying over the Asiago plateau.
  On 2 August 1917, he scored his first confirmed victory, although he had to break off his attack because of a bum magneto and sputtering engine and crashland his own plane. He submitted a claim for the 23rd that went unverified. However, he had better luck the next day, sharing a confirmed win over an Albatros D.III with Antonio Riva but not having a solo second victory confirmed. In December 1917, he upgraded to piloting a Spad VII. By the time he ended his triumphant string on 3 May 1918, he had posted nine victory claims to have five confirmed under the stringent rules used by the Italians.
  
  wn.com/Antonio_Amantea
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  Antonio Conte
  Antonio Conte (born July 31, 1969 in Lecce) is an Italian former footballer and manager. He is the current manager of Juventus.
  Conte began to play football in his city, within the U.S. Lecce youth team, before making his Serie A debut with the first squad in 1985. He was signed by Juventus in 1991 (debuting November 17, 1991 vs. Torino), being later made captain before the promotion of Alessandro Del Piero to this role. During the 1998–1999 season when Del Piero suffered a horrendous leg injury, Conte returned to the captaincy and led Juventus to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. He maintained the captaincy till the 2001/02 season. In 2002–2003, Conte was part of the Juventus team that reached the UEFA Champions League final only to lose on penalties to AC Milan, with Conte himself coming closest to winning the game for Juventus in normal time when he crashed a header off the crossbar early in the second half. Conte became one of the most decorated and influential players of Juventus history. He played for the Italian national team and was a participant at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 UEFA European Championship.
  
  wn.com/Antonio_Conte
• Carmelo Bene
  Carmelo Bene (1 September 1937 – 16 March 2002) was an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter.
  In 1979 he wrote, in collaboration with French philosopher Gilles Deleuze, the essay "Superpositions".
  
  wn.com/Carmelo_Bene
• Cloe Elmo
  Cloë Elmo (April 9, 1910 – May 24, 1962) was an Italian operatic contralto, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.
  She was born in Lecce and began singing at an early age. By the age of seventeen, she had begun her studies at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome with Edwige Chibaudo, and later with Rinolfi and Pedreni. Due to her wide vocal range, she was initially thought to be a soprano.
  She made her debut in Cagliari as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana in 1934. Within a year, she joined the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff. Soon she was given the part of Azucena in Il trovatore, which quickly became her signature role and was her debut role at the Metropolitan Opera in 1947. Other roles there included Santuzza, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Mrs Quickly in Falstaff—the latter she recorded in 1950, opposite Giuseppe Valdengo—and Herva Nelli, with Arturo Toscanini conducting.
  She sang Wagnerian roles in Italian, as was the custom during this time period, including Brangaene at La Scala to the Isolde of Giuseppina Cobelli. She made a notable recording (singing in Italian) of Brangaene's watch from Act 2. She also made recordings (also in Italian) of lieder by Brahms and Strauss.
  
  wn.com/Cloe_Elmo
• Ennio Capasa
  Ennio Capasa is an Italian fashion designer, he was born in Lecce in 1960
  He is the creator of CoSTUME NATIONAL, the Italian fashion house he founded in 1986 and now an internationally renowned designer label famous for its subtle shapes, dark tones and sartorial detail.
  After completing his studies at Milan’s Accademia di Brera, Capasa moved to Tokyo to work with Yohji Yamamoto for two years.
  Back in Italy, in 1986, he presented his first women’s collection in Milan with CoSTUME NATIONAL. Since 1989 he has paraded his creations in Paris at the fashion week every year.
  His style is
  …in which lines and looks are interpreted with precise cuts and few colours; black is no treated as a denial of colour but as its simplification.
  As well as sculpture and Italy’s sartorial traditions, Capasa is inspired by hard rock, funk, Italian 1960s cinema and Body Art. A number of stars have chosen his clothes for tours or red carpet appearances including Mick Jagger, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Jude Law, Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves and Stefania Rocca.
  
  wn.com/Ennio_Capasa
• Ennio de Giorgi
  Ennio de Giorgi (Lecce, February 8, 1928 – Pisa, October 25, 1996) was an Italian mathematician who worked on partial differential equations and the foundations of mathematics.
  He solved Bernstein's problem about minimal surfaces.
  He solved 19th Hilbert problem on the regularity of solutions of elliptic partial differential equations.
  -dimensionale in uno spazio ad r dimensioni (On a general theory of Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): (r-1) -dimensional measure in Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): r -dimensional space)" (in Italian), Annali di Matematica Pura e Applicata, IV 36 (1): 191–213, DOI:10.1007/BF02412838, MR 0062214, Zbl 0055.28504, http://www.springerlink.com/content/6452044r330m1739/?p=366525395f0443be9a9565849f3fa2f4&pi=0 . The first complete exposition by De Giorgi of the theory of Caccioppoli sets.
  
  wn.com/Ennio_de_Giorgi
• Ennius
  Quintus Ennius (c. 239 BC – c. 169 BC) was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was of Calabrian descent. Although only fragments of his works survive, his influence in Latin literature was significant.
  Ennius was born at Rudiae, an old Italian (predominantly Oscan) town historically founded by the Messapians. Here Oscan, Greek, and Latin languages were in contact with one another; according to Aulus Gellius 17.17.1, Ennius referred to this heritage by saying he had "three hearts" (Quintus Ennius tria corda habere sese dicebat, quod loqui Graece et Osce et Latine sciret).
  Ennius continued the nascent literary tradition by writing praetextae, tragedies, and palliatae, as well as his most famous work, a historic epic called the Annales. Other minor works include the Epicharmus, the Euhemerus, the Hedyphagetica, and Saturae.
  The Epicharmus presented an account of the gods and the physical operations of the universe. In it, the poet dreamed he had been transported after death to some place of heavenly enlightenment.
  
  wn.com/Ennius
• Filippo Smaldone
  Saint Filippo Smaldone (July 27, 1848 – June 4, 1923) is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He founded the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Hearts and is known for his work with the deaf.
  Born in Naples, he was ordained a priest in 1871 and during his time in the seminary he began efforts to help the deaf of his native city. He also did work with the sick and nearly died of a plague. He credited his survival to Our Lady of Pompeii. In 1885 he founded an institution for the deaf at Lecce. He went on to work with the blind as well and also orphans before dying at 75 from diabetes related complications.
  He was beatified in 1996 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on October 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Filippo_Smaldone
• Francesco Danieli
  Francesco Danieli (Lecce, 1981) is an Italian historian and iconologist.
  Born in 1981, Francesco Danieli is an Italian historian and iconologist. He is known in the international scene, especially for his work on art and faith in Tridentine Italy and his study on Philip Neri and his aesthetic experience. Danieli studied Philosophy, Theology, Archaeology, Art and History in Naples and Rome. He is Director of Gli Argonauti, series of publications by Edizioni Universitarie Romane (Rome). He has been involved in various international research projects and conferences. His extensive publication record includes books, essays, reviews, and newspaper columns.
  
  wn.com/Francesco_Danieli
• Franco Causio
  Franco Causio (born on February 1, 1949) is an Italian, World Cup winning former footballer who played for Juventus for many years in the 1970s and 1980s.
  Causio was born in Lecce (Puglia), and moved to Juventus when he was 17.
  After some years on loan in Serie B (playing in Reggina and Palermo), he returned to Juventus in during 1970. For 11 years he wore number 7 for Juventus, and played with players such as Roberto Bettega, Marco Tardelli, Dino Zoff, Gaetano Scirea and Antonio Cabrini, winning 6 scudettos and a UEFA cup.
  In 1981 he moved to Udinese where he played for 3 years, teaming up with Brazilian national team player Zico. Then he played in his city football team, Lecce, in its debut in Serie A (1985/86). Subsequently he signed for Inter. He finished his career playing for Serie B team Triestina at the age of 39.
  He made his debut with Italian national football team on April 29, 1972 (Italy-Belgium). He was in the Italian squad at the WC 1974, WC 1978 and WC 1982, which was won by Italy.
  
  wn.com/Franco_Causio
• Giuseppe Zimbalo
  Giuseppe Zimbalo (1620–1710) was an Italian architect and sculptor.
  Known as Lo Zingarello ("Tiny Gypsy"), he was one of the most prominent artists in the so-called Baroque of Lecce, his hometown in southern Italy. Here he designed part of the façade of the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Celestine palace, finished the Duomo (1651–1682; he designed in particular the tall bell tower) and sculpted the column of Sant'Oronzo (1666).
  One of his sons, Francesco, was also an architect and sculptor.
  
  wn.com/Giuseppe_Zimbalo
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  Guido Reni
  Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.
  Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that studio by Albani and Domenichino. He may also have trained with a painter by the name of Ferrantini. When Reni was about twenty years old, the three Calvaert pupils migrated to the rising rival studio, named Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the "newly embarked", or progressives), led by Lodovico Carracci. They went on to form the nucleus of a prolific and successful school of Bolognese painters who followed Annibale Carracci to Rome. Like many other Bolognese painters, Reni's painting was thematic and eclectic in style.
  By late 1601, Reni and Albani had moved to Rome to work with the teams led by Annibale Carracci in fresco decoration of the Farnese Palace. During 1601-1604, his main patron was Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati. By 1604-1605, he received an independent commission for an altarpiece of the Crucifixion of St. Peter. After a few year sojourn in Bologna, he returned to Rome to become one of the premier painters during the papacy of Paul V (Borghese). From 1607-1614, he was one of the painters patronized by the Borghese family.
  
  wn.com/Guido_Reni
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  Hadrian
  Hadrian (Latin: Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus 24 January 76 – 10 July 138), was a Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in all his tastes. He was the third of the so-called Five Good Emperors.
  Hadrian was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus to an ethnically Italian family in Italica near Seville. His predecessor Trajan was a maternal cousin of Hadrian's father. Trajan never officially designated an heir, but according to his wife Pompeia Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. Trajan's wife and his friend Licinius Sura were well-disposed towards Hadrian, and he may well have owed his succession to them.
  
  wn.com/Hadrian
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  Hungarian people
  Hungarians, also known as Magyars (Hungarian: magyarok), are a nation and ethnic group who speak Hungarian and are primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 14-15 million Hungarians, of whom 10 million live in today's Hungary (as of 2011). About 2.2 million Hungarians live in areas that were part of the Kingdom of Hungary before the 1918-1920 dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the Treaty of Trianon, and are now parts of Hungary's seven neighbour countries, especially Romania, Slovakia, Serbia and Ukraine. Significant groups of people with Hungarian ancestry live in various other parts of the world, most of them in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Canada and Australia. Unlike the Hungarians living on the former territory of pre-1918-20 Kingdom of Hungary, only some of the ethnic Hungarians in other areas preserve the Hungarian language and traditions. The Hungarians can be classified into several subgroups according to local linguistic and cultural characteristics; subgroups with distinct identities include the Székely, the Csángó, the Palóc, and the Jassic people.
  
  wn.com/Hungarian_people
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  Iapyges
  The Iapyges (Greek: Ἰάπυγες) or Iapygians were an Indo-European people who inhabited the heel of Italy (modern Apulia) before being absorbed by the Romans.
  The Iapyges have unknown origins but could have been from Illyria.
  They spoke the Messapian language since the Messapians themselves were the southernmost tribe of the Iapyges. Their other tribes included the Dauni and the Peucetii.
  The name Iapyges is derived from Greek authors who linked the tribe's origin to Daedalus's son Iapyx. They were called Apuli, Salentini (or Sallentini) and Calabri by Roman authors. Iapygians were akin to the Oenotrians, an ancient Italic people who lived in the territory of Basilicata and Northern Calabria.
  
  wn.com/Iapyges
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  Lombards
  The Lombards or Langobards (Latin: Langobardī), were a Germanic tribe who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy.
  The Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the Historia Langobardorum that the Lombards descended from a small tribe called the Winnili, dwelling in southern Scandinavia (Scadanan), who had migrated southward to seek new lands. In the 1st century AD they formed part of the Suebi, in northwestern Germany. By the end of the 5th century they had moved into the area roughly coinciding with modern Austria north of the Danube river, where they subdued the Heruls and later fought frequent wars with the Gepids. The Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552; his successor Alboin eventually destroyed the Gepids at the Battle of Asfeld in 567.
  Following this victory, Alboin decided to lead his people to Italy, which had become severely depopulated after the long Gothic War (535–554) between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom there. The Lombards were joined by numerous Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, and their invasion of Italy was almost unopposed. By late 569 they had conquered all the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and southern Italy. They established a Lombard Kingdom in Italy, later named Regnum Italicum ("Kingdom of Italy"), which reached its zenith under the eighth-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, and integrated into his Empire. However, Lombard nobles continued to rule parts of the Italian peninsula well into the 11th century, when they were conquered by the Normans, and added to their Kingdom of Sicily. Their legacy is apparent in the regional appellation, Lombardy.
  
  wn.com/Lombards
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  Marco Materazzi
  Marco Materazzi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko mateˈrattsi], Ufficiale OMRI ; born 19 August 1973), is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender, and is currently plying his trade at league 1 side Swindon Town.
  At the beginning of his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Premier League side Everton. He spent two periods with Perugia (1995–98 and 1999–2001) and signed for Internazionale, in 2001 for €10 million. He is renowned as a prolific goal-scorer for a defender, breaking the Serie A record for most goals scored by a defender in a season in the 2000–01 season. With Inter he has won a number of major honours including five Serie A titles, one Champions League, three Coppa Italia, and the Supercoppa Italiana three times. He is known for his very aggressive style of play which has led him to having more than 60 yellow cards and 25 red cards.
  Marco Materazzi was born in Lecce because his father Giuseppe, a professional footballer, played for U.S. Lecce at the time. Giuseppe was also a former football coach and manager of teams such as Pisa, Lazio, Sporting CP and Tianjin Teda.
  
  wn.com/Marco_Materazzi
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  Messapii
  The Messapii were an ancient tribe that inhabited, in historical times, the south-eastern peninsula or "heel" of Italy (Salento, modern Apulia), known variously in ancient times as Calabria, Messapia and Iapygia. Their chief towns were Uzentum (modern Ugento), Rudiae (modern Lecce), Brundisium (modern Brindisi) and Hyria. They spoke the Messapian language. They are often referred to as "the most southerly of the Iapygian tribes".
  Julius Pokorny derives their ethnonym Messapii from Messapia, interpreted as "(the place) Amid waters", Mess- from Proto-Indo-European *medhyo-, "middle", and -apia from Proto-Indo-European *ap-, "water" (cf. another toponym, Salapia, "salt water").
  The true origin of the Messapii is debated. The most credited theory is that they came from Illyria.
  After Hyria (founded probably in the 18th century BC) they founded other towns, which, at a much later time, the Tarentines attempted to take. The Iapygians repulsed the Tarentine Greeks however and inflicted a serious defeat on them in 473 BC, thanks to their superior cavalry. The Messapic cities were independent from each other, and had trade relationships with Greater Greece communities. A corps of Messapic archers fought with Athenians in a war against Syracuse.
  
  wn.com/Messapii
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  Orontius of Lecce
  Saint Orontius of Lecce (Italian: Sant'Oronzo, Oronzio, Aronzo) is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, along with two other figures associated with his legend, Fortunatus and Justus. He is called the first bishop of Lecce.
  A twelfth century manuscript records one version of Orontius’ legend. Justus was a disciple of Saint Paul who on his way to Rome when he was shipwrecked at Salento, on the beach of San Cataldo. He converted two citizens of Rudiae (present-day Lecce), Orontius and Fortunatus (Orontius was Fortunatus’ uncle), to Christianity. Orontius' father, Publius, had been treasurer to the emperor, and Orontius had succeeded him to this office.
  Orontius and Fortunatus were denounced as Christians, and they refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods. They were whipped and incarcerated, but later went to Corinth, where Orontius met Saint Paul, and was confirmed as the first bishop of Lecce, and Fortunatus his successor. When they returned to Lecce, they were once again persecuted by the authorities. The representative of Nero, Antoninus, imprisoned Orontius and Fortunatus, threatening to kill them if they did not reject their new religion. The two refused and managed to be released, and continued to preach in the Salento and at Bari. They were finally arrested again by Antoninus and executed with an axe three kilometers from Lecce, on 26 August.
  
  wn.com/Orontius_of_Lecce
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  Saint Cajetan
  Saint Cajetan (October 1, 1480 – August 7, 1547), born Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene (also Thiene), is a Catholic Church saint and founder of the order of the Clerics Regular, better known as the Theatines. He is not to be confused with his contemporary, Cardinal Thomas Cajetan.
  Predisposed to piety by his mother, he studied law in Padua, receiving his degree as doctor utriusque juris (i.e., in civil and canon law) at age 24. In 1506 he worked as a diplomat for Pope Julius II with whom he helped reconcile the Venetian Republic. But he was not ordained a priest until the year 1516.
  Recalled to Vicenza in the following year by the death of his mother, he founded a hospital for incurables there. His interests were as much or more devoted to spiritual healing than the physical kind. He intended to form a group that would combine the spirit of monasticism with the exercises of the active ministry. The death of Pope Adrian VI in 1523 led him to withdraw from the Papal Court, founding an order based on these ideals, "the Oratory of Divine Love."
  
  wn.com/Saint_Cajetan
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  Saint Joseph
  Joseph (Hebrew יוֹסֵף, "Yosef"; Greek: Ἰωσήφ) is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ (in distinction to God the Father, his "heavenly father"). In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Christian traditions he is regarded as Saint Joseph.
  The Pauline epistles, generally considered the earliest extant Christian records, make no reference to Jesus' father; nor does the Gospel of Mark, generally considered the first of the gospels. The first appearance of Joseph is therefore in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Each contains a genealogy of Jesus tracing his ancestry back to King David, but the two are from different sons of David; Matthew follows the major royal line from Solomon, while Luke follows a minor line from Nathan, another son of David and Bathsheba. Consequently all the names between David and Joseph are different. According to Matthew "Jacob was the father of Joseph," while according to Luke, Joseph, or possibly Jesus, is said to be "of Heli." Some scholars reconcile the genealogies by viewing the Solomonic lineage as Joseph's major royal line, and the Nathanic lineage in Luke to be Mary's minor line.
  
  wn.com/Saint_Joseph
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  Saint Stephen
  Saint Stephen (Koine Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos; sometimes spelled "Stephan"), the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran,Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
  Stephen's name is derived from the Greek language Stephanos, meaning "crown". Traditionally, Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom; he is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs' palm. In Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young, beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments, and often holding a miniature church building or a censer. Rembrandt depicted his martyrdom in his work The Stoning of Saint Stephen.
  History approximates Stephen's story around A.D. 34-35, shortly after Jesus' crucifixion^{[citation needed]}. According to Chapter 6 of The Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was among seven men of the early church at Jerusalem appointed to serve as deacon. However, he is depicted as also successfully preaching to his fellow Jews and bringing many to accept Jesus as the Messiah. After a dispute with the members of a synagogue of "Roman Freedmen," he is denounced for blasphemy against God and Moses (Acts 6:11) and speaking against the Temple and the Law. Stephen is tried before the Sanhedrin. His defense is presented as accusing the Jews of persecuting the prophets who had spoken out against the sins of the nation:
  
  wn.com/Saint_Stephen
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  Saracen
  Saracen is an historical term for a certain group of people but the meaning changed during its history. In the early centuries AD in Greek and Latin it referred to a people who lived in desert areas in and near the Roman province of Arabia, and who were specifically distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Early Middle Ages, the term began to be used to describe Arab tribes. By the 12th century, "Saracen" had become synonymous with "Muslim" in Medieval Latin literature. This expansion of the meaning had begun centuries earlier among the Byzantine Greeks, as evidenced in Byzantine Greek documents from the era of the Muslim Umayyad Caliphate.
  Ptolemy's Geography from the second century CE describes Sarakene as a region in the northern Sinai peninsula. Ptolemy also mentions a people called the Sarakenoi living in north-western Arabia (near neighbor to the Sinai).Eusebius of Caesarea references Saracens in his Ecclesiastical history, in which he narrates an account wherein Dionysus, Bishop of Alexandria mentions Saracens in a letter while describing the Roman emperor Decius' persecution: "Many were, in the Arabian mountain, enslaved by the barbarous sarkenoi." The Historia Augusta also refers to an attack by Saraceni on Pescennius Niger's army in Egypt in 193 CE but provides little information on who they might have been.
  
  wn.com/Saracen
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  Tito Schipa
  Tito Schipa (27 December 1888 – 16 December 1965) was an Italian tenor. He is considered one of the finest tenori di grazia in operatic history. He was endowed with a natural, sensuous voice which he deployed with great intelligence and taste.
  Schipa was born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa in Lecce into an Arbëreshë family; his birthday was recorded as January 2, 1889 for military conscription purposes. He studied in Milan and made his operatic debut at age 21 in 1910 at Vercelli. He subsequently appeared throughout Italy and in Buenos Aires in Argentina. In 1917, he created the role of Ruggiero in Puccini's La rondine.
  In 1919, Schipa travelled to the United States, joining the Chicago Opera Company. He remained with the Chicago company until 1932, whereupon he appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera from 1932 to 1935, and again in 1941. He also sang at the San Francisco Opera, beginning in 1924.
  From 1929 to 1949 he performed regularly in Italy, including at La Scala, Milan and the Rome Opera. He returned to Buenos Aires to sing in 1954. In 1957, he toured the Soviet Union.
  
  wn.com/Tito_Schipa
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  Totila
  Totila, original name Baduila (died July 1, 552) was King of the Ostrogoths from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the territories in Italy that the Eastern Roman Empire had captured from his Kingdom in 540.
  A relative of Theudis, sword-bearer of Theodoric the Great and king of the Visigoths, Totila was elected king by Ostrogothic nobles in the autumn of 541 after King Witigis had been carried off prisoner to Constantinople. Totila proved himself both as a military and political leader, winning the support of the lower classes by liberating slaves and distributing land to the peasants. After a successful defence at Verona, Totila pursued and defeated a numerically superior army at the Battle of Faventia in 542 AD. Building on his victories, Totila followed these victories by defeating the Romans outside Florence and capturing Naples. By 543, fighting on land and sea, he had reconqured the bulk of the lost territory. Rome held out, and Totila appealed unsuccesully to the Senate in a letter reminding them of the loyalty of the Romans to his predecessor Theodoric the Great. In the spring of 544 the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I sent his general Belisarius to Italy to counterattack, but Totila, captured Rome in 546 from Belisarius and depopulated the city after a yearlong siege. When Totila left to fight the Byzantines in Lucania, south of Naples, Belisarius retook Rome and rebuilt its fortifications.
  
  wn.com/Totila
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  Trojan War
  In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes Odysseus's journey home. Other parts of the war are contained in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.
  The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans (except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves) and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern day Italy.
  
  wn.com/Trojan_War