The vicissitudes of this land are intertwined with the main events that have marked the history of the peninsula and of the entire European continent, starting from prehistoric times. Remains of artefacts date back to Homo Habilis (who lived between 600,000 and 190,000 years ago), while the first human remains can be traced back to the so-called Altamura Man (who lived about 250,000 years ago), related to Neanderthal Homo. There are many finds that date back to Homo Sapiens, among which a young warrior found in the Paglicci Cave stands out.

Between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC, peoples from central Europe settled in Italy and the Apulians occupied what is now Puglia. Herodotus recounts that around 1400 BC. the Japigi, returning from Sicily, were shipwrecked on the Apulian coast and there they decided to settle and expand. Later, the Laconi, the Spartans - who founded Taranto - and the Messapians arrived.

It was with the arrival of the Romans that the Via Appia was built, the first connection between Rome and Puglia, ending in front at the port of Brindisi. In the cities that came under their control, the forum became the center of civil and religious life. Spa complexes were then built and amphitheatres, like the one in Lecce, for public shows. During the following centuries, Puglia still saw the alternation of the Franks, the Byzantines and finally the Ottonians. In the year 1000 the Normans arrived, who occupied the whole of the South from Salerno, eventually unifying the Apulian territory as well. In this period many Romanesque churches were built. A century later it was the turn of the Swabians. The great Federico II made Foggia the new capital of the Kingdom, after Palermo. The love for the Apulian territory, for its countryside and for the flourishing vegetation, prompted the emperor to build a unique fortress near Andria: Castel del Monte .

In 1647 Puglia rose up against the Spanish domination, following the revolt of Masaniello in Naples. But the local barons and the Spanish monarchy eventually prevailed. However, it was during this domination that the famous Leccese Baroque came to life, a peculiar architectural style with showy decorations that spread particularly in Lecce and in Salento.

It was with the arrival of the Romans that the construction of the via Appia, the first connection between Rome and Puglia, ending in front of the port of Brindisi. In the cities that came under their control, the forum became the center of civil and religious life. Thermal complexes and amphitheatres were then built, such as the one in Lecce, for public shows. During the following centuries, Puglia still saw the alternation of the Franks, the Byzantines and finally the Ottonians.