| Brindisi | |||
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| — Comune — | |||
| Comune di Brindisi | |||
| The Roman column marking the end of the ancient Via Appia in Brindisi. | |||
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Brindisi
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Italy | ||
| Region | Puglia | ||
| Province | Brindisi (BR) | ||
| Frazioni | Tuturano | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Commissioned since September 2011 | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 328 km2 (126.6 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) | ||
| Population (31 March 2011) | |||
| • Total | 89,846 | ||
| • Density | 273.9/km2 (709.5/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Brindisini | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 72100 | ||
| Dialing code | 0831 | ||
| Patron saint | St. Theodore of Amasea and St. Lawrence of Brindisi | ||
| Saint day | First Sunday of September | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Brindisi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbrindizi] ( listen); Sicilian: Brìnnisi)[1] is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city is a major port for trade with Greece and the Middle East. Brindisi has an active industry in agriculture, chemical and energy production.
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Brindisi is situated on a natural harbor, that penetrates deeply into the Adriatic coast of Puglia. Within the arms of the outer harbor islands are Pedagne, a tiny archipelago, currently not open and in use for military purposes (United Nations Group Schools used during the intervention in Bosnia). The entire municipality is part of the Brindisi Plain, characterized by high agricultural uses of its land. It is located in the northeastern part of the Salento plains, about 40 km (24.85 mi) from the Itria Valley, and the low Murge. Not far from the city is the Natural Marine Reserve of the World Wide Fund for Nature of Torre Guaceto. The Ionian Sea is located about 45 km (27.96 mi) away.
The territory of Brindisi is characterized by a wide flat area from which emerge sub deposits of limestone and sand of marine origin, which in turn have a deeper level clay of the Pleistocene era, and an even later Mesozoic carbonate composed of limestone and soils. The development of agriculture, has caused an increase in the use of water resources resulting in an increase of indiscriminate use.[2]
Climate classification of Brindisi:
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 (Βρεντήσιον) meaning "deer's head", which refers to the shape of the natural harbor. In 267 BC (245 BC, according to other sources) it was conquered by the Romans.[3] In the promontory of the Punta lands, which is located in the outer harbor have been identified as a Bronze Age village (sixteenth century BC) where a group of huts, protected by an embankment of stones, yielded fragments of Mycenaean pottery. Herodotus spoke of the Mycenaean origin for these populations. The necropoli of Tor Pisana (south of the old town of Brindisi) returned Corinthian jars in the first half of the seventh century BC. The Brindisi Messapia certainly entertained strong business relationships with the opposite side of the Adriatic and the Greek populations of the Aegean Sea.
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 BC (Bell. Civ. i.) and was again attacked in 42 and 40 BC.
The poet Pacuvius was born here about 220 BC, and here the famous poet Virgil died in 19 BC. 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. The termination of the Via Appia, at the water's edge, was formerly flanked by two fine pillars. Only one remains, the second having been misappropriated and removed to the neighbouring town of Lecce.
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.
In 1070, it was conquered by the Normans and became part of the Principality of Taranto and the Duchy of Apulia, and was the first rule of the Counts of Conversano and then, after the baronial revolt of 1132, city-owned by the will of Roger II of Sicily, the city recovered some of the splendor of the past during the period of the Crusades, when it regained the Episcopal See, saw the construction of the new cathedral and a castle with an important new arsenal, became a privileged port for the Holy Land. It was in the Cathedral of Brindisi that the wedding of Norman Prince Roger III of Sicily took place, son of King Tancred of Sicily. Emperor Frederick II, the heir to the crown of Jerusalem and Isabella of Brienne ( 9 November 1225 ) [4] started from the port of Brindisi in 1227 for the Sixth Crusade[5] 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 Victor Emmanuel 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 marine 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.[6]
The name comes through the Latin Brundisium through the Greek Brentesion and Messapi Brention meaning “head of deer”.[7] The city's name appears, therefore, refer to the shape of the port which recalls the shape of the head of the animal.
The emblem of the city of Brindisi, relates to certain unique characteristics of the ancient city of Brindisi, some of them still visible today. The head of deer derives from the Messapic name of the city Brention, name inspired by the shape of the port city, which is reminiscent, of the antlers of a stag that is still clearly visible in satellite photos, which show the two racks, to the east and west, in which the port is divided. The emblem also contains the so-called "terminal columns" of the Appian Way.
Within the territory of the town of Brindisi environmental protected areas are located, some newly established:
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Brindisi harbour
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Brindisi has been the subject of extensive emigration during the twentieth century, as well as all cities in the South. Emigration focused mainly on the lower strata of society who abandoned the countryside. Emigration can be traced in two great waves. The first, which at its peak in the years immediately preceding and following the World War I, has an exclusive destination for the Americas (USA, Argentina, Brazil). The second Puglia migration headed to Northern Europe after the World War II. Attracted by the industrial development of some northern areas of the country Puglia migration also settled in the Piedmont and Lombardy, and in particular Milan. Since the 1960s with the large petrochemical companies construction that were added to for mechanical and naval aviation, Brindisi was able to create employment opportunities for technicians and workers. The city experienced a small regional immigration, attracting families from neighboring provinces and regions. Another important chapter in the demography town was definitely the exodus of Albanians 1990-1991(which actually lasted almost a decade) which led in the port of Brindisi waves of landing immigrants.[8] Brindisi today is a city that is also undergoing a regular immigration from outside the community, although the differences are far from the cities of northern Italy .
The largest non-Italian ethnic community is Albanian. The number of those who decided to stay in the city, however, is very negligible compared to the total number of immigrants who have migrated. Brindisi remains the first step towards western Europe for displaced Balkans.[9] The large number of Americans is due to a U.S. Air Force station, between Brindisi and San Vito dei Normanni that operated throughout the second half of the twentieth century. Although the base is no longer operational for years, many soldiers have decided to stay.[9] The British presence is the result of a recent phenomenon of families from Northern Europe, especially English and Irish that seems to settle into the region. These families usually consist of pensioners, buying villas in the Brindisi countryside. This phenomenon is relatively recent in Puglia, is known as "Salentoshire" playful neologism along the lines of "Chiantishire" on the consolidation of British tourism in Tuscany.[9]
The Brindisi dialect is a variant of Salento and, although there are minor differences between the various municipalities, the root remains unchanged. It is spoken not only in Brindisi, but in some towns of the province of Taranto. The Brindisi also affects some dialects north of Lecce in the south[10]
Brindisi, along with Ostuni, is home of the Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni (Archidioecesis Brundusina-Ostunensis in Latin ), home of the Roman Catholic Church suffragan of Archdiocese of Lecce and part of the ecclesiastical region of Puglia.[11] The diocese was erected in the fourth century, its first bishop was St. Leucio of Alexandria. In the tenth century following the destruction of the city by the Saracens, the bishops established their residence in Oria. It was in this century that established the Diocese of Ostuni, first joined the Diocese of Conversano-Monopoli and likely heir to the ancient diocese of Egnatia. On 30 September 1986, by decree of the Congregation for Bishops, the Archdiocese of Brindisi and Ostuni diocese were united in the Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni plena. The new diocese was recognized civilly 20 October 1986, by decree of the Ministry of Interior . It has a living presence of the ancient Orthodox Church with the parish of St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Rite. The rite of the Greek presence in Brindisi has long been established since the rule of the Byzantine Empire with a strong spread of the Basilian monks.[12] The Jews were a small but industrious community from 53 AD until the second half of the sixteenth century. The new Albanian migration has led to the recurrence of some islamic religious presence.
Significant in Brindisi is the cult of Tarantismo that combines pagan and Christian tradition. In the past it was believed that women who showed forms of hysteria were infected by the bite of a Lycosa tarantula. The only known remedy was to dance continuously for days, so that the poison did not cause greater effect. Through music and dance was created a real exorcism in musical character. Each time a tarantato exhibited symptoms associated with Taranto, the tambourine, fiddle, mandolin, guitar and accordion players went in the house of the tarantato and began to do to play the pinch music with frenetic rhythms. The Brindisi pinch, as opposed to Lecce, is devoid of Christian references [13] and a therapeutic repertoire and musical detail.[14]
The Provincial Library is a public library located in Commenda avenue. It has over 100,000 books and an extensive newspaper archive and participates in the National Library Service. Inside a modern auditorium, a media office and the secretariats of the university offices of Bari and Lecce operate. The Archbishop Annibale De Leo Library is a prestigious public library housed in the Seminary of Brindisi, in Piazza Duomo. Founded in 1798 by archbishop of Brindisi Annibale De Leo, with an endowment of about 6,000 volumes, today it has over 20,000 volumes, 17 incunable, over 200 sixteenth-century manuscripts. These include some rare works, and various manuscript collections.[15]
The University of Salento Brindisi has social sciences, politics and geography faculty with courses in Sociology, Social Services and Political Science. The University of Bari has courses in Business Administration, Management and Consulting, Economics, Maritime and Logistics, Information Technology, Design, Nursing and Physiotherapy.
The "F. Ribezzo"Provincial Archaeological Museum is located in Piazza Duomo and has many large rooms, providing visitors with six sections: epigraphy, sculpture, the antiquarium, prehistoric, coins, medieval, modern and bronzes of Punta del Serrone. The Giovanni Tarantini Diocesan Museum is newly established and is housed in the Palazzo del Seminario. It has a collection of paintings, statues, ornaments and vestments from the churches of the diocese. Particularly important is the silver embossed Ark that has the remains of San Teodoro and a seventh century pitcher, in which one can recognize the wedding at Cana. The Ethnic Salento Agrilandia Museum of Civilization offers tourists the chance to see many statues in wood and stone. It also features agriculture and interesting tools with the rural culture.[14]
Music and theater in Brindisi have never featured significantly in the cultural life of the city. Having never hosted theatrical and musical training institutes, the city supports amateur companies. Over the past decade the city has developed and consolidated non-amateur theater companies, some dealing with theater for research and actor training. These companies have developed several socio-cultural projects for the promotion of the theater for people with disabilities. The same group of companies has produced six shows.[14]
The most important musician from Brindisi is Stefano Miceli, an Italian classical pianist and conductor, worldly known for his concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Berlin Philharmonie, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing and at the Great Hall in Melbourne. Steinway Artist he was given a silver medal by the President of Italy Napolitano and has been a visiting and distinguished professor at Boston University, Tanglewood Institute, the University of New Mexico and at many other academical music schools around the world.
Radio station, CiccioRiccioBrindisi, is heard throughout Puglia, Basilicata, parts of Molise, Campania and Calabria. Radio Dara that started in a workshop, founded in 1980, now broadcasts across the province.[16]
As for the press, the La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno publishes the Brindisi Journal. The Nuovo Quotidiano di Puglia, Salento's newspaper, also covers Brindisi. Senzacolonne, which was founded in 2004, is the only one with a central editorial office in Brindisi.[14] "The Nautilus" national scientific magazine based in Brindisi, reports on the sea, ports, transport and recreational boating. Other newspapers that have their headquarters in the city are BrindisiSera and "Brindisi News".
Brindisi is home television stations Teleradio Agricoltura Informazione and Puglia TV which began airing in January 1988 in Brindisi
Brindisi's cuisine is a simple with ingredients used, starting with flour or unrefined barley, which is less expensive than wheat. Vegetables, snails, and bluefish figure prominently into its cuisine. Among the recipes are worth mentioning in particular "Pettole"(fried yeast dough, sweet or savory to taste stuffed maybe with cod or anchovy, with cauliflower or broccoli), "Patani tajedda rice and mussels" (rice, potatoes and mussels), soup, fish, mashed potatoes with fava beans, broad beans and mussels, and "Racana mussels".[17]
Almond milk: made by infusing water with the finely chopped almonds and then squeezing the same to bring out all the juice. The region of Puglia have entered the milk of almonds in the list of traditional Italian food products . Limoncello: a liquor made from the peel of fresh lemons and enriched with water, sugar and alcohol.[17]
Brindisi cheeses are mostly from sheep, due to the significant ranching of sheep and goats. In the summer they produce ricotta, which can be eaten fresh or matured for a few months so that it has a stronger flavor. Typical of the winter season are the Pecorino, ricotta and strong ricotta (or cottage cheese). It is used to flavor spaghetti sauce or spread on bruschetta.[17] Fresh popular cheeses are burrata, the junket, the Manteca, mozzarella or Fior di latte.
Vegetables are the true protagonist of the traditional diet of Salento. Depending on season, are the tops of turnips, various types of cabbage, the beet greens from the thistle, peppers, eggplant and zucchini (all served sun-dried or in olive oil), and artichokes. There are also wild vegetables used in traditional cooking such as chicory, dandelion (or zangune), wild asparagus), the Wild mustard, the thistle, the lampascioni also called pampasciuni or pampasciuli, and capers.[17] Frequent, in the Brindisi kitchen, is the use of green or white tomatoes: mainly used for tomato sauce but they are also consumed in olive oil, after a process of natural drying. Significant is also the consumption of green and black olives, crushed or in brine. Finally, legumes such as beans, peas and Vicia faba, eaten fresh or dried in the spring and during the winter season. Among the dishes prepared with fruit are quince, baked figs and dried figs (prepared with a filling of almonds), jam with orange and lemon, and fig jam.[17]
Pasta and bread is made with unrefined flour, and thus takes on a dark colour. Durum wheat is mixed with traditional meal. Special local dishes include lasagna with vegetables, cavatelli, orecchiette (stacchioddi in Brindisi dialect), and ravioli stuffed with ricotta.
In breadmaking, local custom favours the use of durum wheat, bread flour and barley bread. For bread made with yeast (called criscituni) and cooked on an oven stone, Brindisi bakers use bundles of olive branches to give the bread a particular scent. One type of traditional bread is made with olives (called puccia). It is made with a much more refined wheat flour than for ordinary bread, to which are added black olives.
Also important are frisella, a sort of dehydrated hard bread which can be stored for a long time, and tarallini, also easily stored for long periods. The pucce and uliate cakes are also typical. Among local desserts the central place is occupied by almond paste, obtained by grinding shelled almonds and sugar. Another speciality is cartellate, a thin strip of pastry, made with flour, oil and wine, wrapped on itself to form a sort of "pink" choreographed with openings, which will then be fried in oil.[17]
In the area of Brindisi are produced Aleatico di Puglia Doc, Ostuni Doc, Brindisi Rosso DOC, Rosato Brindisi DOC and Puglia IGT.[17] Some grape varieties grown in Brindisi include:
The Brindisi DOC produces both red and rose wines from grapes limited to a harvest yield of 15 tonnes/ha and must produce a wine with a minimum 12% alcohol level. The wines are usually blends made predominantly from Negaroamaro and Malvasia Nera but Sangiovese is allowed to compose up to 10% of the blend with Montepulciano allowed to compose up to another 20% (or 30% if Sangiovese is not included). If it is to be a Reserva, the wine is aged a minimum of 2 years before release and must attain a minimum alcohol level of 12.5%.[18]
From an urban point of view [58] [59], the cities earliest signs of human settlement is on the promontory of Punta Terre, a coastal area outside the port. As a Roman colony ( 244 BC ), the city experienced a major urban expansion that ensued economic and social development. According to Pliny the Elder, Brindisi was one of the most important Italian cities.
During the Middle Ages, Brindisi suffered a sharp decline, after it was devastated by the Goths in the (sixth century); Procopius describes it as a small city without defensive walls. The town shrank to a smaller area, probably around the San Leucio temple, outside the old town. The port was abandoned for several centuries. The rebirth came with the Byzantine domination ( XI century ) and especially with the Normans and the Swabians (XII and XIII century ), when it became a prime port for the Crusades. The city was divided into three districts or "pittachi": Santo Stefano (in the vicinity of the columns), Eufemia (in Santa Teresa) and San Toma (in the area of Saint Lucia). Under the Catalan-Aragonese and the Spanish kings, the main efforts were directed mainly around the ramparts (walls, castle and sea fort to provide relief from mostly the Greeks, Albanians and Slavs.[12]
Only through the reopening of the Pigott channel (1775), the city experienced a new impetus and reopened traffic with the East mainly due to the establishment of the Suez Canal at the end of the nineteenth century.[12]
Demographic development in the twentieth century led to the modern city overlying the ancient one, at the cost of the demolition of the neighbourhoods around San Pietro degli Schiavoni, Teatro Verdi, and the Clock Tower. Today urban planning demands that settlements of significant architectural impact are built outside the city centre. The city has now expanded beyond the walls of the historic centre to form the new suburbs of Commando, Capuchins, Sant'Angelo (1950–1970 ) and St. Clare, St. Elias, and Bozzano (1980–2000).[12]
Tuturano: Located 10 km (6.21 mi) south of the city in the plain of Brindisi and has about 4500 residents.
The development of industry led to radical changes in the Brindisi economy and consequent development along the coast. Taking advantage of the location of the port, Brindisi is also a major seaport for Greece and Turkey.
Brindisi agriculture includes horticulture, viticulture, fruit and olives. The area that marked the territory for centuries is based on the culture of almonds, olives, tobacco, artichokes, and grain. Livestock consists of cattle, goats and sheep.
Industry in Brindisi is mainly identified with the chemical and aerospace industry.
The chemical industry, in its various forms (food processing, energy, and pharmaceutical) is highly developed in the territory of Brindisi. The Federchimica association recognizes Brindisi as an industrial chemical center.
The various establishments of ENI, located as Polimeri Europa, Snam and EniPower are placed in the petrochemical complex of Brindisi, on the outskirts of the city, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
Brindisi is a leader in the production of electricity in Italy.[12] ENEL Federico II is a power plant on 4 sections divided by polycombustible thermoelectric power of 660 MW each, came into service between 1991 and 1993. Edipower Brindisi, located in Costa Morena, in the industrial area of Brindisi. Central EniPower Brindisi is a combined cycle power plant EniPower, once completed, with an installed capacity of 1,170 megawatts, will be the most powerful among those of the Eni Company. Regasification terminal at Brindisi, the construction of a regasification terminal by the company's "Brindisi LNG SpA. will heat the area of Porto Exterior, called Capobianco. The authorization process is currently in the process of completion of the national Environmental Impact Assessment, initiated by the company in January 2008. Photovoltaic system, the largest in Europe photovoltaic park (with power of 11 MWp ), which should start operating in 2010, at the former petrochemical site. The industry group responsible for the construction will be joined by the University of Puglia.
The Alenia Aeronautica plants (specialized in the modification of aircraft from passenger configuration to cargo) are located in Brindisi. Avio (center for military engines) and Agusta (production of helicopter metal structures) are also located there.
The city preserves important archaeological finds and coastline, particularly the north coast, where there are many large sand dunes and beaches. Inland agritourism, displays wine (Wine Appia) or olive oil (Collina di Brindisi oil). Brindisi Tourism, however, remains heavily dependent on the Italian tourists (74%, compared with 26% of foreign demand) and is very seasonal.
The main roads are represented by
Rail transport is catered for by Brindisi railway station, an important Apulian railway junction, and a meeting point between the Adriatic Railway and the Taranto–Brindisi railway. The station is managed by Centostazioni, and links Brindisi with all the destinations served by the Adriatic and Ionian coasts.
The port of Brindisi always been at the center of trade with Greece. It is one of the most important commercial and industrial marinas on the Adriatic Sea. The commerce is mostly coal, fuel oil, natural gas, and chemicals. The port consists of three parts:
Brindisi is home to the Papola-Casale Airport, located 6 km outside the city's center. The airport of Brindisi has daily connections with major Italian and European cities. The airport, located 6 km (3.73 mi) from the city center, serves the entire province of Brindisi to Lecce and partly that of Taranto. In 2007, a total of 929,854 passengers have passed through. The airport, is named in memory of Horace Pierozzi, airman of the Second World War. It has two runways, one in NW-SE 2,628 m long, the other NE-SW long 1,970 m. Their characteristics are such as to allow the landing large transport aircraft such as the Antonov An-124. The placement of the airport in the Mediterranean area, along with its natural potential multimodal (the port is a few kilometers away), have made it the basis of strategic importance, both for national defense and NATO. For the same strategic reasons, the airport was chosen as the main logistics base worldwide by the United Nations to support peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations around the globe. From the UN base in Brindisi, food and humanitarian aid is directed to the most remote and devastated regions in Africa and Eastern Europe.
The Public Transport Company of Brindisi, provides public transport in the city and the link with the other municipalities in the province. Moreover, the company provides the transportation service by sea into inland waters of the port of Brindisi. Brindisi is also a major ferry port, with routes to Greece and elsewhere.[19]
Brindisi is home to the following consulates:
Football Brindisi 1912 has played in six championship series. The colors recall those of the province, white and blue. The club plays in the Stadium, named after the president of the historical association on the Adriatic shore, the Commander Franco Fanuzzi. ASD Appia Brindisi club plays in the Regional Championship of the “First Category”.
The main basketball team in the city and Puglia is the New Basket Brindisi, who has played for basketball championships in the top of A1 championships in League 2. The colors are the same for all sports associations in the city, which is white and blue. The club plays their home games in the sports hall "Elio Pentassuglia".
Brindisi is twinned with:
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