Brindisi, Italy – A Rainy Day Detour

If it is raining out and there is not much else to do, then a trip to Brindisi could be the cure for your rainy day. Though not much to see, nor much to look at, Brindisi does offer a few points of interest. We mainly used it for a short respite during our eighteen day visit to Mezzogiorno.

Getting To Brindisi

From Bari we reserved seats on the FrecciaArgento^[1]FrecciaArgento, or TrennItalia’s Silver Arrow service, as opposed to the FrecciaRosso, or Red Arrow service in other areas which only takes a hour. There are other regional offerings, however they usually take longer but are less expensive, so there are options.

Bari Centrale – Waiting for our FrecciaArgento – Bari, Italy

Brindisi does have a airport that is serviced by RyanAir. While here we saw several airplanes land and take off during the day and the airport was directly across the water on the other side of the city from our hotel.

Bindisi The City

Brindisi’s Citta Vecchia, or historical center, is a bit elongated but does reach to the bay where the port is located. The Corso Roma is the main avenue for shopping, though it cannot be compared to the one in Bari or other larger towns or cities we have visited along the coast.

Piazza Il Duomo And The Roman Column

The Piazza Il Duomo has the Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista and some other sites to see. The cathedral is rather plain inside, but somewhat impressive from the outside.

Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista – Brindisi, Italy

Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista – Modern Interior – Brindisi, Italy

The Colonne Romane, or Roman Column, was erected in the city to define one of the endpoints of the Appian Way, or the extent of Rome. Others have countered that they were merely erected as a visual aid for mariners to know where the actual port was located. There were two originally, of which only one still exists in all of its glory, the other crumbled in the mid sixteenth century. The crumbled remains of the one were donated to Lecce for their column.

Grande Albergo Internazionale

Our hotel was the Grande Albergo Internazionale located on the Viale Regina Margherita down by the water. We booked a suite which overlooked the water.

It is a somewhat dated hotel, but has enough amenities to be comfortable. However, the outside and inside looks like it is in need of some restoration. Our room was spacious and the bathroom modern which was a big benefit.

Grande Albergo Internazionale – Patti in our room – Brindisi, Italy

Grande Albergo Internazionale – Our room – Brindisi, Italy

Grande Albergo Internazionale – Our fully equipped bathroom – Brindisi, Italy

Grande Albergo Internazionale – Restaurant for Breakfast – Brindisi, Italy

Grande Albergo Internazionale – Outside our window – Brindisi, Italy

Lungomare di Brindisi

As the name implies, you are able to walk along the water for some length along the Lungomare di Brindisi. It starts near the parking area when you enter the port down to, but no further than the Approdo delle Indie. After that begins an Italian Naval Base and you are redirected up a set of stairs and away from the shore.

Monumento al Marinaio d’Italia – Italian Mariner monument from the Lungomare di Brindisi – Brindisi, Italy

Brindisi Shuttle Service

From the Lungomare, or Viale Regina Margherita, about where it intersects with Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III is one location you can pick up the shuttle. It has a four stop route along the inlet and completes the circuit about once every twenty minutes. One use, simple route charge was 1.20€ per person, which only excepts contactless credit card or NFC contactless payments from your phone, NO CASH.

Monumento al Marinaio d’Italia – Brindisi, Italy

Dock on the Airport Side – Brindisi, Italy

Saint John At The Sepulchre

The St John At The Sepulchre is an ancient eleventh century Church of the Holy Sepulcher with circular construction built over a pre-existing church. It was built to resemble the ancient Anastasis Rotunda of the Holy Selpuchre in Jerusalem with the intention of providing a memory of that structure.

St John At The Sepulchre – Brindisi, Italy

The monument is intended to show the close relationship between Brindisi and the Holy Land during the time of the crusades. Built by the Knight Order of the Canons Regular sometime before 1128, it was conceived to give those who could not pilgrimage to the Holy Land a feeling for that destination, and for those who have, a reminder of it.

St John At The Sepulchre – Main Entrance – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Media Presentation – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Media Presentation Showing Route To Isreal – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Other Items – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Old Nails, Hinges – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Side Entrance Lintel – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Patio – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Garden In Back – Brindisi, Italy

The hole in the floor shows Roman mosaics belonging to a large Roman house dating back to the first and second century CE.

St John At The Sepulchre – Columns – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Roman Ruins – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Roof Timber Works – Brindisi, Italy

There are multiple frescoes on the walls depicting several different important themes of Christianity. All of which have been damaged by previous ownership, no doubt to repurpose the building for other uses.

St John At The Sepulchre – Deposition From The Cross, 13th Century – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Deesis, 13th Century – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Saint Inside Arcat, 13th Century – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Flagellation, 13th Century – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – The Virgin And The Child, 13th Century – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Pentecost, 13th Century – Brindisi, Italy

St John At The Sepulchre – Saint George And The Dragon, 13th Century – Brindisi, Italy

Porta Napoli

The Porta Napoli, also known as the Porta Mesagne, is the oldest entrance to the ancient city. It was constructed during Roman times by Marc Anthony to isolate the city from land side invasions. The Ruga Magistra or main street originated from this gate, which coincides today with via Carmine and via Filomeno Consiglio today.

Castello Svevo

Unlike the map that one of the major search providers tries to imply you can walk the entire way around bay to the Monumento al Marinaio d’Italia; this cannot be done. We found out the difficult way by walking to Castello Svevo or the Swabian Castle of Brindisi, only to find out that you cannot enter without a pass, it is an active Naval Base. Temporary passes can be obtained online, but there is a forty-eight hour waiting period (don’t ask – I have no idea why, however it is required before you may return and enter). Since we are not staying here that long we decided to forgo that pleasure.

Castello Svevo – Wall Battlements – Brindisi, Italy

Castello Svevo – Torrione dell’inferno – Brindisi, Italy

So, denied entry, we changed our plans and headed for the Fontana Tancredi, thinking that it might be a sight to see, and afterwards we could just walk toward the bay and find the Lungomare; no such luck on both accounts. Most of the area in and around the castle is restricted and cannot be entered, the fountain is fenced off, overgrown and only trickles water, so total failure on both accounts.

Via Provincial San Vito – Brindisi, Italy

Southern Italian Naval Base – Brindisi, Italy

In fact, they have very large naval ships anchored here as well temporary housing for illegal immigrants. We attempted to go as far as the tennis club, or Circolo Tennis Club, but then turned around. Had we known beforehand, we could have continued further and picked up the bay shuttle about a half kilometer further.

Castello Svevo – Map and where not to go – Brindisi, Italy

While walking back, we discovered the Santuario Santa Maria degli Angeli church. A nondescript church from the outside offers a better view from the inside. If you are in the area of Via Ferrante Fornari and see the church, it is worth to stick your head in and take a look.

Santuario Santa Maria degli Angeli – Brindisi, Italy

Santuario Santa Maria degli Angeli – Nave and Ceiling – Brindisi, Italy

Monumento al Marinaio d’Italia

The large monument across the bay is the Monumento al Marinaio d’Italia, a naval monument erected for the fallen navy personal of Italy. It has two shore guns on either side and may be climbed for a fee, there is a lookout on the top that has a commanding view of the city.

Restaurants

Most of the restaurants that we visited were down by the water and along the Lungomare.

Ristorante Windsurf

We chose this restaurant out of convenience, mostly because of the rain and threat of thunderstorms, and glad we did because while we were eating it poured. It was also conveniently located thirty meters from our hotel entrance.

Windsurf Ristorante Pizzeria – Lobster tank – Brindisi, Italy

Windsurf Ristorante Pizzeria – Patti waiting for food – Brindisi, Italy

The food is typical pizzeria food with a concentration on sea food for everything else. I chose a pizza and Patti stuck with a panini that they offered on the menu. The Negroamaro from Puglia was actually very nice, dry but not overly tannic.

Windsurf Ristorante Pizzeria – Patti’s Panini – Brindisi, Italy

Windsurf Ristorante Pizzeria – Erick’s Pizza with Copacola – Brindisi, Italy

Windsurf Ristorante Pizzeria – Erick’s Pannacota with strawberry sauce – Brindisi, Italy

Windsurf Ristorante Pizzeria – Patti’s Tartufo – Brindisi, Italy

Windsurf Ristorante Pizzeria – A Negroamaro from Puglia – Brindisi, Italy

Betty Gelateria Cafe Ristorante Pizzeria A Brindisi

A similar cafe and pizzeria as WindSurf is Betty Gelateria Cafe Ristorante Pizzeria A Brindisi, located just below the stairs to the Roman Column. We stopped here for a simple lunch consisting of salads, bread and pizza points. The wine was house wine, but was very good.

Betty Gelateria Cafe Ristorante Pizzeria A Brindisi – Patti’s Green Salad With Fruit And Nuts – Brindisi, Italy

We also stopped later in the evening for dinner, since they were one of the few restaurants around showing pasta with ragu sauce on their menus. Patti ordered the Penne all’Arrabbiata and I ordered the Tagliatelle al Ragú.

Final Thoughts

Although we both thought that Brindisi is rather clean and has some things to offer, we weren’t so sure that we visit, if we didn’t have so much time on our hands being retired. Therefore, for the casual visitor to Italy, we would not commend a visit, Bari and Trani have more to offer.

References[+]

References
↑1	FrecciaArgento, or TrennItalia’s Silver Arrow service, as opposed to the FrecciaRosso, or Red Arrow service in other areas

Brindisi, Italy – Rainy Day Detour