Record Atlas
9 eras · 1200–2026 · 262 places

Apulia — Bari, Foggia and Salento

Bari, Foggia, Lecce, Taranto, Brindisi, Otranto, Barletta. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
1200–1442 Kingdom of Sicily, from 1282 the Kingdom of Naples no registers survive

Before registers. Frederick II made Foggia one of his residences, and after 1282 the mainland, Apulia included, came under the Kingdom of Naples.
1442–1504 Aragonese Kingdom of Naples FamilySearch

Alfonso V of Aragon conquered Naples in 1442 and united it with Sicily under Aragonese rule.
1504–1714 Spanish viceroyalty of Naples FamilySearch
1714–1735 Austrian Habsburg rule (Charles VI) FamilySearch

The Treaty of Rastatt gave Naples to Charles VI in 1714.
1735–1806 Bourbon Kingdom of Naples FamilySearch

A Spanish army conquered Naples and Sicily in 1734, and Charles of Bourbon was installed as king in 1735.
1806–1815 Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Bari · Archivio di Stato di Foggia · Archivio di Stato di Lecce · FamilySearch

An act of 8 August 1806 reorganised the kingdom on the French model. Terra d'Otranto, seat Lecce, covered Salento and today's Taranto and Brindisi provinces (without Fasano and Cisternino, which belonged to Bari).
1815–1861 Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Bari · Archivio di Stato di Foggia · Archivio di Stato di Lecce · FamilySearch

The Restoration civil registers of the south, also called Bourbon registers, run from 1816 to 1865. Terra d'Otranto's administrative organisation was finalised from 1 January 1817.
1861–1923 Italy — Provinces of Foggia, Bari and Lecce Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Bari · Archivio di Stato di Foggia · Archivio di Stato di Lecce · FamilySearch

Apulia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 as the provinces of Foggia, Bari and Lecce, and Terra d'Otranto became the Province of Lecce. Brigandage followed unification.
1923–2026 Italy — Provinces of Foggia, Bari, Lecce, Taranto and Brindisi Antenati · Archivio di Stato di Bari · Archivio di Stato di Foggia · Archivio di Stato di Lecce · Archivio di Stato di Taranto · Archivio di Stato di Brindisi · FamilySearch

The Ionian province (Taranto) was created in 1923 and the Province of Brindisi in 1927, both cut from Terra d'Otranto; Fasano and Cisternino passed from Bari to Brindisi. A 19th-century record for a Taranto or Brindisi town may be filed under Lecce.

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 1200–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

262 places on this ground

The 200 carrying the most collections are listed; 62 more stand on this ground. Every place has them all.

258 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 198 more.

All record regions · The map