History
The area around Ischitella was inhabited from the Prehistoric times (Neolithic), as shown by the excavations that have unearthed many relics, such as ceramics and other stone implements of daily use. On Mount Civita, near Ischitella, "came to light two Roman necropolis" (See G. Alvisi, "The Roman roads in Daunia", Tipografia del Sud, 1970: 79). Despite the antiquity of the site where the town is situated in Puglia, its origins are really rather recent, as the document stating the city dates back to 1058, when Pope Stephen IX confirmed to the Monastery of Calena "direction of 14 colonies, the so-called 'cellae' [a sort of place or room for food supplies], listed individually with the property annexed.”
Among these there is also the 'cellam Sancti Petri de Ischitella, Vineis et cum terris suis, quae fuit Johannis Presbiteri (...)" [“The 'cella' of St. Peter of Ischitella, with its vineyards and farmlands that once belonged to the Priest Giovanni”] (See S. Fulloni, "The Lost Abbey”, Liguori, 2006: 47 and the study published by the "Centro Storico Benedettino Italiano", "Monasticon italiae", Badia di Santa Maria del Monte, 1981: 62).
In the Middle Ages the town was under the dominion of the Normans, Swabians (Frederick II of Swabia (1194-1250) was responsible for the construction of the "castrum") and Anjou. During this period it was ruled by several families of feudal nobles, such as Gentile, Durazzo and finally Pinto. But the feudal city "are not well defined in their terms, so often we can only make some assumptions based on evidence more or less unstable and always in need of new checks and clarifications" (See "Archivio Storico Pugliese”, 2001: 31).
Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries the town was dominated by the Spaniards, French and Austrians, until the unification of Italy (1861).
Etymology
As Regards the etymology, it seems that the root of Ischitella is equal to that of Ischia (Naples), with the meaning of "shady place": "[...] Ischia (NA) [probably from the Greek 'iskios' =' shady place '], the same etymology applies to Ischitella, this place name in the provinces of EC, FG, PT [...]" (See "Paideia, the Literary Review of bibliographic information", Paideia Editrice, 1998, Vol 53: 365).
The question of the tree called "ischio" was explained in detail already in the nineteenth century by M. Manicone, who wrote that "[...] the wood of Ischitella abounds not only of beeches, oaks, hornbeam, but also of “ischi” (a sort of oak) , a tree from which some scholars want to derive the etymology of “Ischitella”. The “ischio” has deep roots and is higher than the beech, while its trunk is larger than that of the oak. It produces an acorn which is a delicious food for pigs, and its wood is very strong for each building or structure that require a great strength (...) Linnaeus says that the 'Quercus Aesculus' (“ischio”) was so called by Latin from 'escas', quod fructus eius dulcis sit [...]" ["escas (" tempting food”) because its fruit is sweet] (See M. Manicone, "La Fisica Appula", Naples, Sangiacomo, 1806, Vol I: 109 and 110, note 1). Contemporary studies confirm the hypothesis of M. Manicone, because the LEI (Italian Etymological Dictionary), about the "Aesculus", says: "[...] 'Aesculus', in Italian 'esculeo', an adjective, 'belonging to the ‘ischio’' (in the fourteenth century called 'escoleo'). In the area of Novara we find 'esca' or 'Daedalea quercina'; in the area of Naples 'eschia-Ischia', ' Virgilian Quercus', 'oak', in Italian 'Esculo,' male, ' a sort of oak ' [ ...]" (See M. Pfister, "LEI, Italian Etymological Dictionary," Reichert, 2002, Vol 7: 964). In footnote ( 964, footnote 2) it is given to the opinion of G. Rholfs, who notes that "The Tuscan form 'Ischia' (a sort of oak , Lat.' Aesculus') is strange: it already appears as' hisclus' in s0me Lombard Edicts of Rotari and it seems that we see the influence of some other word. However, it is to discard the Albanian word 'shkurn' (tree), which cannot result from 'Aesculus' for phonetic and semantic reasons: while the word 'ishke', which is in the Albanian language of Calabria, is a ‘loan’ of local Italian dialects.”
Beyond the considerable linguistic subtleties that puts the Italian word 'Ischio', it is now almost universally accepted that this term is the origin of the name of the small town of Ischitella. However, there is a second hypothesis, which is generally not highly regarded, but which has strong ability to grasp the truth. Assuming that Ischitella and Ischia have the same origin, Angelico Prati, in 1974, proposed a scientific solution to be considered carefully. He derived the term 'Ischia' not from the Greek 'iskios' (' shady place ') but from thr Latin term “insula” (island), to be understood not as an island in a physical sense, but as an “isolated place.” "[...] Ischia 'isla', Latin 'Insula' (island). Ischia and some common dialectal names have a very limited area, while the word 'island' and derivatives are widespread in Italy, including local names to indicate 'not true islands', but a condition of land or places somewhat isolated . It is not possible that something has a name well known for centuries (...) Ischitella (Foggia) in code Cav. is shown as 'isclitella' (a small island) [...]" (See Angelico Prati, "History of Italian Words”, Feltrinelli, 1974: 127-128). The interpretation of Ischitella such as "island", even in a physical sense, is also supported by some studies of a prestigious German magazine (See “Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie”, 1901, Vol 25: 351), in which Ischitella is interpreted such as "island between two rivers or the shore of that river," . “G. di Giovanni explains: ‘islands' are called in some parts the alluvial soils near the river ‘Platani’, having mostly a form of cape’.”
The interpretation of Ischitella such as "island", even in a physical sense, is also supported by some studies of a prestigious German magazine (See “Zeitschrift für Romanische Philologie”, 1901, Vol 25: 351), in which Ischitella is interpreted such as "island between two rivers or the shore of that river," . “G. di Giovanni explains: ‘islands' are called in some parts the alluvial soils near the river ‘Platani’, having mostly a form of cape’.”
In conclusion, Ischitella. from the etymological point of view, is located between two Latin words, the 'Aesculus "(a sort of oak) and the' island" (meaning "isolated" or "island between two rivers "); in the future we will see which of two scenarios will prevail.