Copertino is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Lecce

Province of Lecce

The Province of Lecce is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. Totally included in the Salento peninsula, it is the second most populous province in Apulia and the twenty-first most populous in Italy....

 in the Apulia

Apulia

Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

 region of south-east Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

History

Following Charles of Anjou's successful campaign in 1266, the Hohenstaufen tower of Copertino was held first by the de Pratis family and then by Walter VI of Brienne

Walter VI of Brienne

Walter VI of Brienne was Count of Brienne, Conversano, and Lecce, and titular Duke of Athens. Walter was the son of Walter V, Duke of Athens, and Jeanne de Châtillon , the daughter of the Count of Porcien, a constable to King Philip IV of France.As grandson of Hugh of Brienne Walter VI of Brienne...

, Duke of Athens, Duke of Lecce and Grand Constable of France.

Copertino became the centre of a County under the Enghiens, who were sovereigns of the land of Galatone, Leverano and Veglie. With the marriage of Mary of Enghien

Mary of Enghien

Mary of Enghien, also Maria d'Enghien, was Countess of Lecce from 1384 to 1446, and, by her second marriage, Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Sicily, Jerusalem, and Hungary .- Family :...

, Countess of Lecce and Copertino (later Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Sicily, Jerusalem, and Hungary), with Raimondo del Balzo Orsini

Raimondo del Balzo Orsini

Raimondo Del Balzo Orsini , also known as Raimondello was a nobleman of the Kingdom of Naples. He was Count of Soleto , Duke of Benevento , Prince of Taranto , Count of Lecce , Duke of Bari, Grand Constable of the Kingdom of Naples, Gonfalonier of the Holy Roman Church Raimondo Del Balzo Orsini...

, the county became part of the principality of Taranto

Principality of Taranto

The Principality of Taranto was a state in southern Italy created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Apulia....

. The French knight Tristan Chiaromonte (de Clermont-Lodeve) led the development of the county capital, having assumed power over the territory on his marriage to Caterina, daughter of Mary of Enghien

Mary of Enghien

Mary of Enghien, also Maria d'Enghien, was Countess of Lecce from 1384 to 1446, and, by her second marriage, Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Sicily, Jerusalem, and Hungary .- Family :...

. Tristan's daughter Isabella of Taranto

Isabella of Taranto

Isabella of Taranto , born Isabella of Clermont, was a Princess of Taranto in her own right and first Queen consort of Ferdinand I of Naples.-Family:...

, heiress to the Brienne claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Brienne claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem

Hugh, Count of Brienne claimed the regency of Jerusalem in 1264 as senior heir of Hugh I of Cyprus and Alice of Jerusalem, being the son of their eldest daughter, but was passed over by the Haute Cour in favor of his cousin Hugh III of Cyprus. This claim fell to his son Walter V of Brienne and...

, married Ferdinand I of Naples

Ferdinand I of Naples

Ferdinand I , also called Don Ferrante, was the King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. He was the natural son of Alfonso V of Aragon by Giraldona Carlino.-Biography:...

. With the conquest of the Salento pensinsular by the Aragonese dynasty, effected jointly by the Spanish army and knights from Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

, the county was gifted in 1498 to Alfonso Castriota Scanderbeg, in gratitude for military support.

The Princes of Belmonte gained the Castle through the Squarciafico Counts of Copertino, to whom the feudality passed from 1557.

Copertino DOC

The area around Copertino is permitted to make red and rose

Rose

A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...

Italian DOC wine. The grapes are limited to a harvest

Harvest (wine)

The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...

 of 14 tonnes/ha with the finished wines needing a minimum of 12% alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

. The wines are predominantly Negroamaro

Negroamaro

Negroamaro, also Negro amaro, is a red wine grape variety native to southern Italy. It is grown almost exclusively in Puglia and particularly in Salento, the peninsula which can be visualised as the “heel” of Italy. The grape can produce wines very deep in color. Wines made from Negroamaro tend to...

 with no more than a 30% blend component of Malvasia

Malvasia

Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...

, Montepulciano

Montepulciano (grape)

Montepulciano is a red Italian wine grape variety that is most noted for being the primary grape behind the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita wine Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane and the Denominazione di origine controllata wines of Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno.It should...

 and Sangiovese

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...

 (which is further limited to a maximum of 15%). Wines labeled Riserva must be aged for a minimum of 2 years prior to release and have a minimum alcohol level of 12.5%.

Twinnings

Cupertino

Cupertino, California

Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (named after St. Joseph of Copertino)

Notable people

Saint Joseph of Cupertino

Joseph of Cupertino

Saint Joseph of Cupertino, O.F.M. Conv., was an Italian Franciscan friar who is honored as a mystic and a saint. He was said to have been remarkably unclever, but prone to miraculous levitation and intense ecstatic visions that left him gaping...

.

Giuliano San Giorgi, (January 24, 1979) singer of the Negramaro

Negramaro

Negramaro is an Italian rock band formed in 1999 and successful since 2005. Their name stems from Negroamaro, a wine produced in their native region, Salento....

.

Rosalba De Carlo, (October 14, 1939) Italian head chef.