Presentation of Brindisi Disciver the city

Project Sustainable gastronomy

1. DISCOVER THE CITY

2. The name "Brindisi" comes from an ancient Messapian word, "Brention",
which means "Head of Deer"; observing the particular morphology of
the inland port of Brindisi the Messapi saw in it the head of a deer, It is
still a recurring feature in the city’s civic coat of arms.
In 266 BC Brindisi was conquered by the Romans, and under the rule of
the Roman Empire it experienced a period of great splendor and
prosperity thanks not only to its strategic position, but also to the
security of its port resulting from its morphology.
INTRODUCTION
After the fall of the Roman empire, Brindisi was faced with a period of
great poverty and great degradation, also due to the passage of
many conquering peoples such as the Goths, the Lombards who razed
it to the ground, the Saracens who set fire to the city, the Angioini, the
Sueves and many others.
The Normans will play a great role, however, since after a period of
great decadence they rebuilt the city around the XI century AD.

3. MONUMENT TO
THE SAILOR
Il was built between 1932 and 1933 to remember the sailors
who died during World War I, and is the work of the architect
Luigi Brunati.
It was made of carparo and Trani stone, shaped like a gigantic
ship’s rudder, 54 meters high from the upper square and 68
meters from the lower one.
On the side walls were applied bas-reliefs of large littori bundles,
removed after the end of the Fascist Twentieth Century. On the
altar is a bronze statue of Maria Stella Maris by Amerigo.
At the base there is a chapel shrine in which are carved, on
marble slabs, the names of sailors who died for their country
during the Great War.

4. ROMAN COLUMNS
They were erected by the ancient Romans at the end of the Appian Street, the most
important street of ancient Rome, to highlight the importance of Brindisi and its
port.
Historians believe that these columns were placed high in front of the port, so it could
act as a lighthouse and guide the entry of boats.
The column bases date back to the 1st century B.C. while the casks with the capital
date back to a period between the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.. The monument is the
result of two different construction phases.
Now we can admire only one of the two columns because the twin was
donated to Lecce, as a sign of thanks to their patron "Santo Oronzo", who
is said to have protected the Salento from the plague of 1690.
The column was dismantled in 1955 to be restored and was subsequently
reassembled in 2003, although the terminal part, formed by the last tower
and the capital with the overlying part, was replaced by resin casts to
preserve the original marble from the aggression of sea salts, now kept in
Palazzo Granafei-Nervegna.

5. GRANAFEI-NERVEGNA
PALACE
Built in the second half of the 16th century by the Granafei family, it was sold in 1862 to the
Nervegna brothers.
The late-renaissance façade is divided into three orders by marcapiano bands and the portal is
surmounted by the family coat of arms depicting a rampant lion that carries with its front legs a
bundle of corn ears and is turned, in sign of veneration, towards a cross. The spikes are
attributable to the activity of the family’s ancestors, who were grain traders, hence their surname.
Inside you can admire the excavations of
an imperial-age domus and the complex
that housed the Court of Assizes, then you
can also see the mosaic floors with white
and black tiles and polychrome marble.

6. DUOMO CATHEDRAL
LOGGIA BALSAMO
Designed in 1720 by Mauro Manieri, it presents on the second order balcony eight stone statues
depicting Mathematics, Ethics, Theology, Philosophy, Jurisprudence, Poetics and Oratory.
EX SEMINARY PALACE
Dedicated to San Giovanni Battista is of ancient foundation, by Pope Urban II, it was completely rebuilt
following the collapse occurred due to the earthquake of 1743, It preserves of its medieval layout only
some fragments of the ancient mosaic pavement and on the top of the apse an inscription related to
the architect builder of the church.
It was witness not only of the crusaders and pilgrims who came to Brindisi to reach the Holy Land, but
hosted the second wedding of the Swabian Emperor Frederick II who on November 9, 1225 married
Jolanda of Brienne.
It is a balcony supported by shelves placed on two ogival arches: the shelves are
richly carved with allegorical motifs. In the palace, dating back to the 14th century, it
is believed that there was the mint of the Angevin state.
DUOMO SQUARE

7. The Church of San Giovanni al Sepolcro is a clear testimony to the close relationship
between the city of Brindisi and the Holy Land during the Crusades; it was designed as a
copy of the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
There are graffiti on the walls inside and outside the church, among which we can admire
numerous symbols left by men, pilgrims and knights as a trace of their passage.
The visible Roman mosaics are related to a domus of imperial age, a large residence that
was to extend beyond the perimeter of the temple.
CHURCH OF SAN GIOVANNI
AL SEPOLCRO

8. Below the New verdi theatre extends a part of the district of Roman age found in the archaeological
area of San Pietro degli Schiavoni, from the name of the rione in which it was found, an area on which
in 244 B. C.
Conducted between 1964 and 1966, the archaeological excavations put in light of interesting remains
dating from the Roman era but the value of this archaeological area consists mainly in having provided
valuable information on the urban layout of Brindisi because it was discovered that the city was divided
into blocks delimited by the intersection of streets.
To the east of the street you can see the paving of a domus, probably built between the end of the I
century A.C. and the beginning of the I century A.C. d. C. with plastered walls and painted. Next to it
there is a small spa complexThe visible Roman mosaics are related to a domus of imperial age, a large
residence that was to extend beyond the perimeter of the temple.
SAN PIETRO DEGLI SCHIAVONI