Historical traces seem to indicate the ancient homeland of Primitivo in the region once called Illyria, which today corresponds to Croatia and Montenegro. It is thought that Primitivo was brought to Puglia between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by Slavic refugees, called Schiavoni, or Greco-Albanese who fled Ottoman persecutions. In fact, before being called “Primativo” at the end of the 700s this vine preexisted in Apulian vineyards under the name “Zagarese.” The first to select it and give it the name we know today was the priest of Gioia del Colle, Don Filippo Francesco Indellicati, a botany enthusiast. He planted it in Contrada Terzi and baptised it Primativo for the early maturation of the grapes. The excellent enological results favored its spread, especially in the 1800s, like wildfire, particularly in the Bari Murgia and the Tarantino.