Puglia (Apulia) is a region in south eastern Italy bordering the Adriatic to the east and the Ionian Sea. Its southern portion known as Salento, a peninsula, forms the heel of the Italian "boot." The region comprises 7,469 square miles (19,345 km2), and its population is about 4 million. It is bordered by the other Italian regions of Molise to the north, Campania to the west, and Basilicata to the southwest. It neighbours Greece and Albania, across the Adriatic and Ionian. The region extends as far north as Monte Gargano.
Geography
Bari is the capital of the region, which is divided into the provinces (and their capitals by the same name) of Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, and Taranto. In 2005, the new provinces of Barletta Andria and Trani were created. Puglia is made up of a low lying coastal area and a central spin of mountains known as the Gargano Peninsula. Other important centres are Alberobello, Andria, Gallipoli, Gioia de Colle, Martina Franca, Ostuni, Santa Maria di Leuca, and Trani.
Economy
As you will see the main source of income to the Local population is agriculture, products include olives, grapes, cereals, almonds, figs, tobacco, and livestock (sheep, pigs, cattle, and goats). The main towns have a manufacturing background refining petroleum, chemicals, cement, iron and steel, plastics and wine. Fishing is pursued in the Adriatic and in the Gulf of Taranto. The scarcity of water has long been an acute problem in Apulia, and it is necessary to carry drinking water by aqueduct across the Apennines from the Sele River in Campania. However, tourism is increasingly replacing agriculture as the main resources of the region.
Weather
