Cutrofiano (

Salentino Salentino () is a dialect of the Extreme Southern Italian ( in Italian) spoken in the Salento peninsula, which is the southern part of the region of Apulia at the southern "heel" of the Italian peninsula. Overview Salentino is a dialect of th ...

: ;

Griko Griko (endonym: /), sometimes spelled Grico, is one of the two dialects of Italiot Greek (the other being Calabrian Greek or ), spoken by Griko people in Salento, province of Lecce, Italy. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek ...

: translit. ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

province of Lecce The province of Lecce (; Salentino: ) is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. The province is called the "Heel of Italy". Located on the Salento peninsula, it is the second most-populous province in Ap ...

in the

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

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

History

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

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

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

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

, and ''Conti'' of

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

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

Climate

Cutrofiano is part of the low Salento that has a

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

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

Etymology

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

Society

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

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, Lombard, Norman,

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, French and

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References

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