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Brindisi: a sea town

Brindisi is placed where the Adriatic Sea crosses the Ionian, in the most eastern extremity of the Italian peninsula. In the course of history, Apulia, a land of border and intersection of cultures, has played an important trading role thanks to the favourable position of some of its towns, which were always considered as doors to the East. And the main role played by Brindisi in the road system of the Apulian region has been known since the Roman Age. The need to reach quickly this destination led to the creation of the new lay-out of the Traian’s road, along with the oldest of the Appia road. The wishes, needs and dreams of all those travellers coming from Rome and going towards east, found in the harbour of Brindisi their topical place; on the other hand, all the people coming back from the Holy Places or going towards the major European pilgrimage destinations landed in Brindisi.

Brindisi is a natural harbour, that has developed inside a coastal recess characterized by magnificent expanses of land set in the plain of Salento. The total absence of significant slopes, the mighty layers of red soil and the absence of streams of water running on surface, are the most relevant features of these territories which quite naturally adapt to grape and olive growing.

A natural scenery, where the pastel colours of the hinterland give origin to wonderful landscapes in which the eyes get lost following the lines of rows merging with the blue of the sea and the blue of the heaven, offering a view of suggestive impact. A territory where the solar nature, enriched with the influence of the sea, reveals all its splendour, producing wines of great quality. The sea is an outstanding resource for the oenological production of these areas, since it confers to the wines of this land that rare complexity that makes them unique.

Historical outlines

The history of Brindisi reveals cultural influences which have blended in the course of centuries and – like all towns facing the sea – has experienced both golden ages and dark periods. Brindisi reaches the zenith of its artistic and architectonic splendour between the XI and the XIII centuries, with the Apulian Romanesque style, and in the XVII century, with the Baroque of Salento.

Today Brindisi is a modern and dynamic town, a destination chosen by those tourists that want to combine nature with culture and history, a 'mouth of sea' open to the discovery of new lands.

The name of the town is indissolubly linked to the harbour: according to the most widespread theory, the name 'Brindisi' derives from the Messapic 'Brunda', probably meaning 'Head of deer', with reference to the morphological conformation of the harbour. The Messapic civilization, whose origin is probably Greek or Illyrian, had settled in these territories for a long period, from the VIII century b. C. to the III century b.C. Yet, there is another legend about the name of the town: Brindisi would derive its name from the name of  Brention, Hercules’ son, who – according to the mythological narration – would have been the founder of the town.

The foreign domination in Apulia

In the course of its history, Apulia has known a number of foreign dominations: Greeks, Romans (during whose rule the region reached the highest level of development), Longobards, Byzantines, Saracens. In 267 b.C. the Roman Empire founded in Brindisi a colony, and the town became then  the main commercial and military port heading towards east. Brindisi was connected to Rome through the Appia Road, on a first moment, and afterwards, through the Traian’s Road.

Temples, baths, an anphitheatre, a forum, barracks, academies, a mint and a waterworks were built. Tangible witnesses of this golden age are found in the estates of Jaddico and of Giancòla, two archaeological sites, where the vineyards of Rubino winery are located. Today, a number of those precious finds, dating back to the I century b.C. – and attesting that in those areas the grape was grown and the wine was traded – are preserved in the museum of Brindisi.

Brindisi and the Normans

In the V century, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Brindisi knew a phase of decline: the town was conquered and dominated by the Goths, and then by the Byzantines, whose rule continued also during the Saracen and Longobardic invasions. Under the rule of the Normans, that arrived around 1071, the town enjoyed a period of renaissance. Brindisi became the 'Door to East', thanks also to the crusaders, that chose the harbour of Brindisi to sail for the Holy Land. In this period the architecture of the town also flourished.

The Cathedral, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was erected in Piazza Duomo between the XI and the XII centuries. Damaged by the earthquake in 1783, the architectonic work astonishes for its beauty and for the fragments of its wonderful mosaic floor. The Church of Santa Maria del Casale, which was erected by the end of the XIII century, is located in the outside of the town and stands out for its façade with a geometrical pattern of gray and yellow stones.

The strongholds

After the Normans and the Swabians, with Frederik II, Brindisi was dominated in the XIII century by the Angevins and Aragoneses, and suffered the Turkish incursions. The danger of a Saracen invasion led to the construction of a number of sighting towers along the coasts, as well as of strongholds, castles and farms in the hinterland, in order to strengthen the defenses of the country. The blockhouse of Torre Testa, which was erected in the estate of Jaddico, is one of the best examples of this defensive architecture. It has given its name to one of the top wines of Tenute Rubino: a portentous red wine produced from Susumaniello grapes, a typical variety of Salento, faced with the danger of extinction and today valorized by the efforts and by the committment of Tenute Rubino.

From 1496 to 1509 Brindisi was under the aegis of Venice, and afterwards it underwent the Spanish domination and the rule of Charles V. In those years Brindisi knew a further period of decay, during which a progressive expansion of marshes in the area of the harbour occurred. Nevertheless, the architecture of the town flourished, with the construction of the Church of Santa Teresa (XVII century), a typical example of Baroque of Salento. The façade shows original forms and a few inserts of stones (pinnacles and spirals).

Brindisi experienced a new period of economic growing in 1775, with Ferdinand IV of Borbone, when the harbour became active again, thanks to the work of drainage of the marshes. In 1860, immediately after the annexation to the Reign of Italy, the town knew a phase of renaissance and, from 1869, with the opening of the Suez Channel, the harbour of Brindisi became an important trade junction for India.

During the Second World War, the town became seat of the Allied Command for the low Adriatic area, acquiring a position of strategic importance. For a short period, between September 1943 and February 1944, Brindisi was also Capital of Italy.