Brindisi

Brindisi (the ancient Brundisium or Brundisium), a seaport town of Southern Italy, in the province of Lecce, is situated on a small promontory in a bay of the Adriatic Sea, 346 miles SE. of Ancona by rail. A place of very great antiquity, it was taken from the Sallentines by the Romans (267 B.C.), who some twenty years later established a colony here. It rapidly increased in wealth and importance, chiefly on account of its excellent port—consisting of an inner and outer harbour, the former perfectly landlocked, and capable of containing the largest fleets, and the latter also very well sheltered. Indeed, it soon became the principal naval station of the Romans in the Adriatic, and attained a population of 100,000. Horace has made a journey to Brundisium the subject of one of his satires (Sat. i. 5), and Virgil died here (19 B.C.) on his return from Greece. The city suffered greatly in the wars which followed the fall of the empire. When the Normans became possessed of it in the 11th century, the Crusaders made it their chief port for embarkation to the Holy Land; but with the decline of the crusades, the port again sank into insignificance. The city subsequently suffered greatly from wars and earthquakes. The principal buildings are the cathedral (1150), now in a somewhat ruinous state; and the castle, commenced by the Emperor Frederick II., and finished by Charles V. The neighbouring district is still remarkable for its fertility, olive-oil being produced in large quantities. Since the establishment of the Overland Route (q.v.) to India, Brindisi has greatly increased, and as the terminus of the Mont Cenis and other railway routes, it has become a great point of departure for passengers for the East. It is about 60 hours from London by rail; and the weekly steamers to Alexandria make the passage in three days. The extensive and well-sheltered harbour has undergone great improvement. Since 1866 two long quays have been made in the inner harbour, and a great breakwater and mole. Mail steamers can now lie alongside the quays in 26 feet of water. About 1000 vessels annually enter the port, of upwards of 600,000 tons burden. The city is the seat of an archbishopric. Pop. 14,508.