ABSTRACT
This chapter is two-fold: to assess the supposed 'impoverishment' and inherent vulnerability of these towns, and to understand the reasons behind their development and proliferation. It shows that Ascoli Satriano was a settlement which experienced rapid growth and rapid decline in very short periods. The chapter argues that the settlement divergence between Ascoli and Locorotondo was linked to their different modes of exploitation. The towns on the plains of the Tavoliere were crystallised through a commercialised pastoral economy managed by elite absentee stakeholders in Naples. In Western Sicily and the Northern Apulian plains there is a proliferation of very large agro-towns, while in areas such as Southern Basilicata or Principato Ultra there is a pattern of concentrated settlement amongst mainly deserted countryside, but settlements are smaller. Ascoli Satriano is located on the edge of a large plain in Northern Apulia known as the Tavoliere, but within a shallow valley formed by three hills.
