International lecturers and academics address issues centred on the fundamental role played by the urban centres and port poles of Adriatic Puglia and the Tyrrhenian Sea in ancient and modern history for the development of Mediterranean civilization. The common denominator of the themes tackled is therefore the urban historical landscape, outlined through the gaze of the most varied disciplines - from the history of art, architecture and the city to urban historical iconography and cartography, from archaeology to economic history, to that of building materials and their technological and chromatic use - drawing on many, and in more than one case unpublished, documentary and iconographic sources. A contribution of ideas in the common objective of knowledge and enhancement of the landscape, urban and architectural environment of those historic centers within the current debate on the fate of cultural heritage in Italy. For the territory of Gallipoli and Salento, a valuable tool for the identification of the most appropriate strategies for the exploitation of its recognized beauty, not separated from traditional hospitality.