History
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.
Read more about this topic: Salento
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