Brindisi

Brindisi is an ancient city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

The Castello Svevo or Castello Grande ("Hohenstaufen Castle" or "Large Castle"), built by emperor Frederick II. It has a trapezoid plan with massive square towers. The Aragonese added four towers to the original 13th century structure. After centuries of being abandon, in 1813 Joachim Murat turned it into a penitentiary; after 1909 it is used by the Italian Navy. During World War II, it was briefly the residence of King Victor Emmanuel III.

Two ancient Roman columns, symbols of Brindisi. They were once thought to be mark the ending points of the Appian Way, instead they were used as a port reference for the antique mariners. Only one of the two, standing at 18.74 m, is now visible. The other crumbled in 1582, and the ruins was given to Lecce to hold the statue of Saint Oronzo, because Saint Oronzo was reputed to have cured the plague in Brindisi.