Soleto

Soleto (Sulìtu in local dialect) 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. History In the 5th century, Soleto was 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 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. Soleto Map The Soleto Map, the oldest geographical map in Western world, was discovered in Soleto by Belgian archaeologist Thierry van Compernolle of Montpellier University on 21 August 2003. Notable people Matteo Tafuri (1492–1582), philosopher, astrologer and physician. See also Kastrioti Orsini References External links Soleto on Line (in Italian) Photogallery of Soleto (in English)