History

Established then that "Anxa" and "Callipolis" were the same city, historically, we can say that Gallipoli was conquered by the Romans in 265 BC, and that linked it to the "Via Traiana", to facilitate the transition towards the Balkans and they developed so in it, port activities, before transforming it into a military centre, and subsequently in a “Municipium”.

It was sacked by the Vandals and by Totila (died in 552 AD) in 450. The period of the barbaric invasions was one of the hardest for Gallipoli. Soon after, the city was conquered by the Byzantines, who, in the 500 AD, ruled wholly  the South Italy.

The Byzantine Government on town of Salento lasted for half a Millennium. In 542 AD it was rebuilt by  the Byzantines that crested fortifications and used it as port of berthing of their fleet; thus Gallipoli became a cornerstone of the Ionian Sea. In the XI century Gallipoli was occupied by the Normans and in the fights between Swabians and Angioini, it remained faithful to the ancient Lords but, after the defeat of Conradin of Swabia (1254-1268), suffered the siege (1268-1269) by Carlo of Anjou (1226-1285). The Aragonese domination, followed to the Angevin, arranged so that Gallipoli expanded economically thanks to the continuously growing port traffics.

In 1484, the Venetians tried the siege of Gallipoli, which was forced to surrender. The following year it returned to possession of the Aragonese and in 1501 it suffered the siege of Spaniards and in 1528 by  French. Ferdinando I of Borbone (1751-1825) started  the construction of the port after it became part of the Kingdom of Naples. With the subsequent centuries the importance of Gallipoli was always grown, both for its active port, and for its merchant class that made trade oil for lamps, the most important Mediterranean olive oil platform.

With the unity of Italy (1861) it became the capital of the district.

Etymology

The history of Gallipoli begins with its name, which was the subject of many discussions among scholars, since Pliny the Elder [23-79 AD] (Nat. Hist., III, 100) called it "Anxa". The meaning of "Anxa" was explained by Prof. G. Semeraro, who observed that the name was of Messapic origin: "[…] The Messapic ' Anxa ' indicates the part extended over the end of a promontory overhanging the sea (…) the meaning is ' to the rampart ' […]" (See G. Semerano, "The Origins of European Culture" Olschki, 1984: 504). The question was due to the fact that Gallipoli was a Greek city, which, in Roman times,  was called "Anxa" ("Quae nunc est Anxa", "which now is called Anxa", said Pliny). "In particular,  K. Lomas observes there are signs of a Greek presence at Otranto (ancient Hydruntum ' ') and at Gallipoli (ancient ' Callipolis ')" [See K. Lomas, "Rome and the Western Greeks", Routledge, 1993: 21]. Most likely was "Anxa" the ancient name of the city; when the Greeks of Taranto arrived, they called Anxa "Callipolis", or, etymologically, “the beautiful city”, but the Romans called it with the ancient name "Anxa", which we find in Pliny. The issue was explained very well in the "Records" of a study Convention about Gallipoli: "[…] The Greek origin of the city, declared by Pomponius Mela [died 45 AD] (‘Urbs Graia est Callipolis” [‘Gallipoli is a Greek Town’],  De Situ Orbis ', II, 4, 66), seemed to contradict  Pliny the elder, who called it ' Anxa ' […]".

But there is the fact that the doubt arose from a misinterpretation of the Pliny’s  text , who wrote: "Vero Senonum Gallipolis, quae nunc est Anxa" ("Indeed Gallipoli of the Senones, that now is named Anxa"); in fact the Senones not settled ever in these places ("Certe Galli Senones, hic umquam fuere nulli", ["Certainly the Gauls Senones did not live ever here", rightly wrote Filippo Cluverio (1580-1622]; hence the doubts about the Pliny’s passage, for which it was thought that the  Latin writer  refers to another city, and not to Gallipoli. Though the modern philology has corrected the text of Pliny, so instead of "Senonum", we must read "Senum" (See "Atti del Convegno Nazionale", Editrice Tipografica, 1986: 100-101 and note 40). But to tell the truth, already in the 18th century, a great scholar had observed the error.

Going the entire history again of the matter, Cristoforo Cellario (17th  century) wrote: "[…] Callipolim Mela ‘Graiam urbem’ dixerat: qui ergo opus Gallorum opus esse? Sed nihilo opus argumentis est, ubi membranae causam dijudicant. Ex Mss. Harduinus legit: ‘In ora vero, Senum, Callipolis, quae nunc est Anxa: ut ‘Senum’ quoque, si vera lectio, nomen oppidi Salentinorum  sit […] "; that is:" Pomponius Mela had said already that Gallipoli was a Greek city. Who, indeed, could seriously believe that Gallipoli was a city of the Senones?  And really there is no question, if we read manuscripts carefully. By manuscripts Arduino reads: ' In that area, in truth, there is ' Senum ', ' Callipolis ', which now is called Anxa: where even ' Senum ', if the reading is right, is the name of a city of Salento […] "(See Christophorus Cellarius, “Notitia Orbis Antiqui” , 1703: 573-574).