Every design for Brindisi

Ever looked at Brindisi's harbour on a map and seen a stag's head? The Messapians did: they called the place Brention, "head of a stag", after the natural inlet that cuts deep into the Adriatic coast and branches like antlers. That harbour has shaped daily life ever since, and it still does, with ferries and cargo heading for Greece, the Balkans and the Middle East.

What makes Brindisi unusual is how the sea comes right into town. The arms of the port reach in between the old quarters, the tiny Pedagne islands sit in the outer harbour, and the waterfront is where the city meets, works and walks. Beyond the port, the flat Piana di Brindisi is farm country, the Torre Guaceto nature reserve lies just up the coast, and the town also lives on its chemical works and power generation. For a few months between September 1943 and February 1944 it even served as the provisional seat of the Kingdom of Italy's government. In the old town the Castello Svevo di Brindisi, the Cattedrale di Brindisi, the Fontana Tancredi and the Porta Mesagne keep watch over the streets.

And then there are the Colonne Romane Terminali Via Appia, marking the point where the great Roman road from Rome finally reached the sea.