BRINDISI, ARCHDIOCESE of. — B., a city of Apulia, is situated at the end of a deep inlet, which divides inland into two branches: the spur between them is occupied by the town; the western branch forms the well-sheltered harbor. Its foundation is extremely ancient and is attributed to Diomedes or to the Cretans. It lies at the end of the Via Appia; of the two columns that marked its limit, one is intact, while of the other the pedestal and a fragment remain, now in Lecce. The Via Traiana, which starts from Benevento and joins the Egnatia at Aeca, also ends at B. A well-known maritime emporium from ancient times, it was a rival of Tarentum; conquered by the Romans, it became their colony and later a municipium, and constituted the principal port for Rome’s communications with the East. After the fall of the Roman Empire it successively fell prey to the Goths, the Saracens, and the Byzantines, all attracted by the importance of its geographical position; it was especially a destination and theater of struggle between the Byzantines and the Normans. Robert Guiscard, having conquered it in 1660, gave it to his brother Goffredo. From the Normans it passed to the Hohenstaufen, and Frederick II, who adorned it with numerous buildings, ceded it to Manfred. Having passed under Aragonese rule, it was ceded to the Spanish in 1500 and remained under their domination until the eighteenth century, when they were replaced by the Bourbons.
In a maritime center as important as B., there could certainly be no lack of colonies or groups of Easterners who, as elsewhere, might have spread the Gospel; but precise and reliable information concerning the origin of the episcopate is lacking. It must be held certain that Bishop Leucius was the first in the Brindisian succession; traditions make him a citizen of Alexandria of the fourth or fifth century, and others even a disciple of St. Peter. Leaving the latter traditions aside as unfounded, we may accept the others as to the date, but not as to the circumstances accompanying II. A few other bishops are attested for the following centuries. It is impossible to determine what happened to B. as a consequence of the Lombard invasion; but Byzantine rule may have continued even under the Carolingians without changes in character.
Following the first Saracen invasions (ninth century), the bishop of B. had to withdraw inland and establish his residence in the city of Oria, which was better fortified and easier to defend; unlike other places, no trace of a Greek bishop is found in Oria during this period. Bishop Theodosius labored greatly to restore the ecclesiastical organization disrupted by the Muslim invasion. At the end of the tenth century, as is supposed, the Byzantine authority endeavored to deprive the Latin bishop of Oria of all jurisdiction over the coast and especially over B. After being removed from Greek influence by the Norman occupation, B. appears as a Latin archbishopric without suffragans. In 1088 Urban II consecrated its new Cathedral. Oria and its territory also remained included in the diocese of B. until 8 May 1591, when it was established as an independent diocese, while that of Nardò had already been established in 1413. The diocese of Ostuni was granted in perpetual administration to the archbishop of B. in 1821. Although B. had remained for a long time under Byzantine rule, without, however, having Greek bishops, the Greek rite, while never predominant, was widely diffused and had churches in which it was celebrated, such as S. Basilio, S. Andrea Apostolo, and S. Giacomo Maggiore. It began to decline under Norman rule, but traces of it nevertheless remained until the thirteenth century in certain liturgical ceremonies; later, the influx of Greek and Albanian populations caused it to revive, so much so that the church of S. Pietro was assigned to this rite.
Among the archbishops of B. the following should be remembered: G. Pietro Carafa (Paul III), Cardinal Girolamo Aleandro, humanist and nuncio in Germany, Francesco Aleandro, and G. Bovio, translator of the works of St. Gregory of Nyssa.
B. has numerous remains of hydraulic structures and Roman walls, as well as an important group of medieval monuments, including: the Swabian-Aragonese castle; the church of S. Maria di Casale, in Romanesque style, with a canopy portal and, inside, frescoes by Rinaldo da Taranto; the church of S. Benedetto, in a mixed Byzantine and Gothic style; the church or Rotunda of S. Giovanni, now an archaeological museum; and the Cathedral dedicated to S. Teodoro, restored after the earthquake of 1743. Christian epigraphy is limited to a few tombstones from a Christian necropolis.
Among the oldest and most important abbeys are S. Andrea, belonging to the Benedictine Order, and S. Maria (Benedictine nuns), founded in 1090 by Count Goffredo and his wife.
The present diocese, with 15 municipalities in the province of B. and one (Locorotondo) in the province of Bari, has an area of 1,103 sq. km. and a population of 188,000 inhabitants, of whom 187,000 are Catholics. There are 33 parishes, with 126 diocesan priests and 26 regular priests (1948).
Noemi Crostarosa Scipioni
ART. — While in the Brindisi countryside the Basilian monks were excavating crypts and frescoing them, the Benedictine Order built the church of S. Benedetto in 1080.
Perhaps older is the round temple of S. Giovanni al Sepolcro, now used as a civic museum. Dating from the 13th century is the church of the Crocifisso, with a single-gabled façade adorned with small arches and a large rose window with an archivolt; inside are two wooden sculptures: the Crucifix, which tradition relates was brought from Jerusalem by a Venetian gentleman, and a Madonna with Child. Of considerable architectural interest is the church of the Trinità, which rises above the crypt of S. Lucia; the latter, divided into three narrow naves by small columns with acanthus-leaf capitals, is adorned with frescoes from the 12th century, among which a blessing s. Nicola is noteworthy. The church of S. Paolo, with a single nave and a Baroque interior, dates from 1322. At the beginning of the 14th century Filippo d'Angiò and his wife Caterina di Costantinopoli founded the church of S. Maria del Casale. The single-gabled façade, divided by round pilasters and decorated at the top with small arches, has rich bichrome decoration and geometric designs, a characteristic element of the medieval monuments of Brindisi. Along the sides run horizontal bands of light and grey carparo. Inside, on a Latin-cross plan, there is a single nave with transept and rectangular apse; a recent restoration (1926) reopened the ogival lancet windows and the minor portals, which had been walled up during the Baroque remodeling of the 18th century. The frescoes were brought to light in 1911. The Last Judgment is represented on the wall of the counter-façade. It is still a Byzantine-influenced painting of the 14th century, signed by a Rinaldo da Taranto. In 1619 Duke Massimiliano di Baviera had the church of S. Maria degli Angeli built on the site of the birthplace of s. Lorenzo da Brindisi; it is characterized by restrained Baroque, including in the interior. The ancient Cathedral, of which some fragments and two inscriptions recalling its founder, Bishop Ballardo, and Ruggero II, remain, was rebuilt, together with the bell tower, toward the end of the 18th century. It preserves a beautiful 16th-century choir carved in walnut and the paliotto of the high altar, embossed in silver, dating from 1704. — Vedi Tav. VIII.