One of the oldest maps in the world is 2500 years old, from the 5th century BC, and belonged to the Illyrian tribe of the Messapians, located in the South of Italy. It was written in the Illyrian language.

The so-called “Soleto Map” is a fragment of a vase on black background with engraved map of Salento, Messapico. It shows the relationship between the Iapigi , the Messapians and the Greeks in the fifth century BC. The “Map of Soleto”, found in the homonymous center of Salento, some say is of the Messapica Age.