Brindisi ( or
Vrindhision; ;
Messapian:
Brention) is an ancient
city in the
Apulia region of
Italy, the capital of the
province of Brindisi, off the coast of the
Adriatic Sea.
History
Ancient times
thumb|left|Ancient map of Brindisi by Piri Reis.
There are several traditions concerning its founders; one of them claims that it was founded by the legendary hero
Diomedes.
Brindisi was an
Ancient Greek settlement predating the
Roman expansion. The Latin name
Brundisium comes from the Greek
Brentesion meaning "deer's head", which refers to the shape of the natural harbor]]. In 267 BCE (245 BCE, according to other sources) it was conquered by the Romans.
After the
Punic Wars it became a major center of Roman naval power and maritime trade. In the
Social War it received Roman citizenship, and was made a free port by
Sulla. It suffered, however, from a siege conducted by
Caesar in 49 BCE (
Bell. Civ. i.) and was again attacked in 42 and 40 BCE.
The poet
Pacuvius was born here about 220 BCE, and here the famous poet
Virgil died in 19 BCE. Under the Romans, Brundisium - a large city in its day with some 100,000 inhabitants - was an active port, the chief point of embarkation for
Greece and the East, via
Dyrrachium or
Corcyra. It was connected with Rome by the
Via Appia and the
Via Traiana.
Middle Ages and modern times
thumb|left|Church of S. Giovanni al Sepolcro.thumb|left|Brindisi Cathedral.Later Brindisi was conquered by
Ostrogoths, and reconquered by the
Byzantine Empire in the 6th century CE. In 674 it was destroyed by the
Lombards led by
Romuald I of
Benevento, but such a fine natural harbor meant that the city was soon rebuilt. In the 9th century, a Saracen settlement existed in the neighborhood of the city, which had been stormed in 836 by pirates. Again a Byzantine possession, it was captured by the
Normans in 1070, and subsequently became part of the
Kingdom of Naples under its various dynasties. Like other Pugliese ports, Brindisi for a short while was ruled by
Venice, but was soon reconquered by
Spain.
A plague and an earthquake struck the city, in 1348 and 1456.
Brindisi fell to
Austrian rule in 1707-1734, and afterwards to the
Bourbons. Between September 1943 and February 1944 the city functioned as the temporary capital of Italy.
Brindisi is also noteworthy because it hosted King
Vittorio Emanuele III,
Pietro Badoglio and a part of the Italian armed forces command in September 1943 after the
armistice with Italy.
In the 21st century, Brindisi serves as the home base of the San Marco Regiment, a naval brigade originally known as the La Marina Regiment. It was renamed San Marco after its noted defense of Venice at the start of
World War I.
Main sights
- The Aragonese Castle, best known as Forte a Mare ("Sea Fort"). It was built by King Ferdinand I of Naples in 1491 on the S. Andrea island facing the port. It is divided into two section: the "Red Castle" (from the color of its bricks) and the more recent Fort.
- Two ancient Roman columns, symbols of Brindisi. They were once thought to be mark the ending points of the Appian Way, instead they were used as a port reference for the antique mariners. Only one of the two, standing at 18.74 m, is now visible. The other crumbled in 1582, and the ruins was given to Lecce to hold the statue of Saint Oronzo (Lecce's patron) , because Saint Oronzo was reputed to have cured the plague in Brindisi.
- the Duomo (Cathedral), built in Romanesque style in the 11th-12th centuries. What is visible today is the 18th century reconstruction, after the original was desotryed by an earthquake on February 20 1743. Parts of the original mosaic pavement can be seen in the interior.
- Church of Santa Maria del Casale (c. 1300), in Gothic-Romanesque style. The notable façade has a geometrical pattern of gray and yellow stones, with an entrance cusp-covered portico. The interior has notable early-14th century frescoes.
- Portico of the Templars (13th century). Despite the name, it was in reality the loggia of the bishop's palace. It is now the entrance to the Museo Ribezzo.
- the Fontana Grande (Grand Fountain), built by the Romans on the Appian Way. It was restored in 1192 by Tancred of Lecce.
- Piazza della Vittoria (Victory Square). It has a 17th century fountain.
- Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (1609).
- Church of the Holy Heart.
- Church of San Giovanni al Sepolcro, with circular plan, dating from the 12th century.
- Church of the Santissima Trinità (or Santa Lucia, 14th century). It has a late 12th century crypt.
- Natural preserve of Torre Guaceto
Transportation
Brindisi is home to the
Papola-Casale Airport, located 6 km outside the city's center. Brindisi is also a major ferry port, with routes to Greece and elsewhere.
See also
