Salento (Salentu in Salentino dialect) is a Geographic region of Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot".It encompasses the entire administrative area of the province of Lecce, a large part of the province of Brindisi and part of that of Taranto.The peninsula is also known as Terra d'Otranto, and in ancient times was called variously Messapia, Calabria, and Sallentina.