Brindisi
Brindisi is an ancient city in the
Italian region of
Puglia, the capital of the
province of Brindisi.
Ancient times
There are several traditions concerning its founders; one of them claims that it was founded by the legendary hero
Diomedes.
Brindisi was probably an
Illyrian settlement predating the
Roman expansion. The Latin name
Brundisium, through the Greek
Brentesion, is a corruption of the
Messapian Brention meaning "deer's head" and probably referring to the shape of the natural harbour. As a Messapic centre, Brindisi was in conflict with
Taranto and in friendly relations with
Thurii. In
267 BCE (
245 BCE, according to other sources) it was conquered by the Romans.
After the
Punic Wars it became 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
Vergil died in
19 BCE. Under the Romans Brundisium, 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
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. In the 9th century a Saracen settlement existed in the neighourhood 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 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, respectively.
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.
|
A Roman column alongside the Via Appia. |
Brindisi in the 21st century 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.
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.
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Official site*
ItalianVisits.com
