Una cittadella messapica. L’insediamento de I Fani nnell’ambito del popolamento antico del Capo di Leuca

The ancient settlement of I Fani lies in southern Apulia inland from Leuca, a few kilometres from the Ionian coast. This paper offers a summary of the results of researches launched by the University of Lecce and led by the Australian Archaelological Mission, directed by Jean-Paul Descoeudres and Edward Robinson. The site was occupied from protohistoric times, with some caesurae. The first period of life corresponds to a Middle Bronze Age village; in the 6th century BC a settlement arose, which was abandoned around 470 BC. The Archaic settlement, delimited by fortification walls, is analysed here within the framework of the settlement system of Archaic Messapia, within which it appears to have played, thanks to its strategic position, a role in controlling the territory, not only from a military point of view, but probably also from the aspect of socio-economic dynamics.