Apulia

Puglia, or Apulia, is the region of Southeastern Italy. The Adriatic Sea borders it to the east and the Ionian Sea to the south and west. The coastal plains are entirely covered by beautiful orchards, vineyards, and olive groves. Apulia produces more olive oil than any other region in Italy. Chief among the many full-bodied wines of the region is the fantastic Primitivo made from primitive grapes that were first introduced to the region by the Greeks in the 8th century BC.

It was first colonized by the Mycenaean Greeks and was part of the Greek Western expansion as most of the rest of coastal Southern Italy, known as Magna Grecia. Taras, now Taranto, is the largest of the colonies in the region. It was later to be conquered by the Romans. After the Roman Empire fell, the region was occupied by many civilizations until it became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.