BRIN DISI (the ancient Brundisium or Brundusium), a seaport t. of southern Italy, in the province of Lecce, is situated on a small promontory in a bay of the Adriatic sea, about 45 in. e.n.e. of Taranto. B. is a city of very great antiquity. It was taken from the Sallentines by the Romans 267 lac., who some 20 years later established a colony here. The town, partly owing to the fertility of the country, hut chiefly on account of its excellent port—consisting of an inner and outer harbor, the former perfectly landlocked. and capable of containing the largest fleets and of easy defense on account of its narrow entrance, and the latter also very well sheltered—rapidly increased in wealth and importance. It soon became the principal naval station of the Romans in the Adriatic. In 230 B.C., B. was the starting-place of the Roman troops that took part in the first Illyrian war; and from this point the Romans nearly always directed subsequent wars with 31acedonia Greece, and Asia. And when the Roman power had been firmly estab lished beyond the Adriatic, B. became a city second to none in south Italy in com mercial importance. Horace, who accompanied Antony in a hostile movement on B. in 41 p.c., has made the journey the subject of one of his satires i. 5). Virgil died here in 19 n.c., on his return from Greece. The city appears to have retained its
importance until the fall of the empire, but it suffered greatly in the wars which fol lowed. When the Normans became possessed of it in the 11th c., the Crusaders made it their chief port for embarkation to the Holy Land; but with the decline of the crusades, B. sank into comparative insignificance as a naval station. The city subsequently suffered greatly from wars and earthquakes. The principal buildings are the cathedral, where the emperor Frederick II. was married to in 1225; and the castle, com menced by Frederick II., and finished by Charles V. Tlie district around B. is still remarkable for its let tility, olive oil being produced in large quantities. Some years ago, B. was constituted an entrepot for foreign goods. Since the establishment of the over land route to India, B. has greatly increased, being the most convenient point of departure for 'the east from northern and central Europe. The extensive and well sheltered harbor has undergone great improvement, and a substantial bulwark has been built across the n. arm to prevent it from being filled with sand. In 1874, 939 vessels, of 380,069 tons, cleared the port. Pop. 9105.