Brindisi, al termine della via Appia

Throughout history, Brindisi has always functioned as "the Gate of the Orient", the point of embarkation, in every epoch, for the Greece of myth and the amazing riches of Asia.
The city, with its strategic importance and extended dockyards, was perfectly adapted to this historical role as the only genuinely great Adriatic port in the centre of southern Italy.
Because of the radical transformation which the city has undergone in modern times, it is difficult to discern the phyisical signs of this ancient prestige. But, it retains the atmosphere of a city which knew how to make of its port, traffic and commerce a channel for culture and art, mixing the traditional with the new.
The name Brindisi is derived, according to legend, from that of Brento, son of the VII century B.C. Lybian Hercules. The other theory is that it comes from the Messapian brunda, or brendon (deer head), reflecting the shape of its port, which is made up of two branching inlets. Even in present times, a deer, along with the columns which mark the end of the Appian Way, are the symbols which decorate the city's coat of arms.
The Messapian origin of Brindisi is well documented, but it was with the Roman occupation which began in 266 B.C., and the installation of a Latin colony in 244, that Brindisi began to acquire prestige, becoming an extremely important naval base in Rome's struggle for expansion.
From the II century B.C. onwards, Brindisi was directly connected to Rome by the Appian Way, which after passing Taranto reached its end at the gates of the port. To the Appian Way, the Emperor Trajan added the Trajan Way, which, taking in Canosa and following the coast through Bari and Egnazia, linked these centres to the most important port of the region. During these centuries Brindisi was a great city, but in modern times little remains. Although the Archaeology Museum in Piazza Duomo contains a noteworthy collection of Roman relics (mainly amphoras discovered during underwater excavations), of the most important monuments, such as the forum, the baths, the temples and theatres, absolutely nothing has survived. The only memory of Roman Brindisi are the two columns which most probably marked the end of the Appian Way. One of these two cipolin marble pillars is today situated at the bottom of the steps leading to the Lungomare Regina Margherita (the sea-front), and is surmounted by a precious capital decorated by busts of Neptune, Jove, Athena and Mars. The other column, which collapsed in 1528, was remounted in Piazza S. Orono of Lecce to support a statue of the Patron Saint of the city.