A region of southern Italy forming the toe of the Italian "boot." Founded as a Greek colony, it was taken by the Romans in 268 B.C. and by the Byzantine Empire in the ninth century A.D.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
