Brindisi
[key], Latin Brundisium, city, capital of Brindisi prov.,
in Apulia, S Italy. A modern port on the Adriatic Sea, it has been noted
since ancient times for its traffic with Greece and the E Mediterranean.
Manufactures include petrochemicals, plastics, and food products. Its
excellent harbor was a Roman naval station, a chief embarkation point for
the Crusaders (12th–13th cent.), and an important Italian naval base
in World War I. One of the two columns marking the terminus of the Appian
Way still stands; Brindisi also has Romanesque churches, a fine cloister,
and a castle built (13th cent.) by Emperor Frederick II.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Italian Political Geography
