To see:Tancredi Fountain in Brindisi

Tancredi Fountain in Brindisi

The following article was written by Pierluigi Papa , creator and editor of the site brindisimedievale.blogspot.it, entirely dedicated to the history of the city of Brindisi. Enjoy the reading.

Fontana Tancredi (Brindisi) before the restoration

The Tancredi Fountain , called Fontana Grande, it is the oldest of the Brindisi fountains, already existing in the Brundisium Roman in the current Provincial Avenue for San Vito between the Minnuta districts and Casale , what used to be a stretch of the Via Appia¹.

In the Middle Ages , the water from the fountain was used not only to water the animals of travelers who came to the city as pilgrims to the Holy Land but also for irrigation of the surrounding gardens and for needs of citizens . Pasquale Camassa⁸ in his "Guide to Brindisi" he describes with a quotation the quality of flowing water with "the best of water" ⁹.

In 1540 the governor of the province, Ferrante Loffredo¹⁰ decided to restore part of the street and to enlarge the fountain by placing three coats of arms on the central wall:the coat of arms of the city¹¹ in the center, that¹² by Ferrante Loffredo on the left and the arme¹³ by Carlo V¹⁴ on the right. To remember the event, the governor decided to leave a second epigraph in Latin, where he invites travelers to stop and quench their thirst after a long journey:

In 1828 the fountain was in a state of total ruin , almost reached the limit of total collapse , the decision was made to carry out a second restoration.

Two restoration interventions to preserve the monument were carried out in 1998-1999 and in 2011 when the Municipality of Brindisi decided to allocate funds for the renovation of the monument and the redevelopment of the surrounding area with the reclamation of the garden and bench insertions and the new lighting system , reopening it to the people of Brindisi on February 21, 2013, under the administration of the Mayor Cosimo Consales¹⁶ with a ceremony in the presence of political and religious authorities.

The structure consists of a rectangular wall, two aedicules¹⁷ lateral pointed arch¹⁸ with domes in Arabic style, joined by a water collection basin that flows from the mouth of the masks , also present in newsstands. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Bascapè Giacomo, Del Piazzo Marcello, Signs and symbols. Medieval and modern public and private heraldry , Rome, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, 2009 (note 12)
• Camassa Pasquale, Guide of Brindisi, Brindisi , Commercial Edition, 1910;
• Del Sordo Alberto, Portraits from Brindisi , presentation by Aldo Vallone, Bari, 1983 (note 8);
• De Vecchi Pierluigi and Cerchiari Elda, Art in Time , Milan, Bompiani, 1991 (note 17-18)
• Houben Hubert, Tancredi. Count of Lecce, king of Sicily , Galatina, Congedo Editore, 2004 (note 2);
• Jurlaro Rosario, Brindisi medieval epigraphs , Salento Studies, A. 13, 1968, pp. 231-277 (note 7);
• Maddalena Giuseppe and Tarantino Francesco P., Of the signs still seen in the city of Brindisi , Brindisi, Ed. Alfeo, 1989 (note 12)
• Papadia Vittorio, Brindisi:from paganism to Christianity , Latiano, Neografica, 2002; (note 3);
• Riccardo di San Germano, The Chronicle , trad. by G. Sperduti, Cassino 1999, pp.29-30. (note 2);
• Ribezzi Petrosillo Vittoria, Guide of Brindisi , Congedo Editore, Galatina, 1993;
• Sirago Vito Antonio, Brindisi in the time of Augustus , in "Brundisii res", v. 1, no. 11, 1979, pp. 21-38 (note 1);
• Vitolo Giovanni, Middle Ages. The original characters of a transitional age , Florence, Sansoni, 2000; (note 3)

SITOGRAPHY:http://www.treccani.it (note 6) NOTES:

¹ The Via Appia is a Roman road 360 Roman miles long, whose works began under the consul Appio Claudio Cieco (350-271 BC) (lat. Appius Claudius Caecus ) in 312 BC, and passed for Aricia (today Curls ), Forum Appii (today Sezze ), Anxur (today Terracina ), Fundi (today Funds ), Itri , Formiae (today Formia ), Minturnae (today Minturno ), Sinuessa (today Mondragone ), Capua (today Santa Maria Capua Vetere ), Vicus Novanensis (today Santa Maria a Vico ) and then pass through the Stretta di Arpaia , in the current province of Caserta . Crossing the bridge on the Isclero river Caudium was reached (today Montesarchio ), and along the Monte Mauro , we went down towards Apollosa and the Corvo torrent . After crossing a series of bridges we reached Beneventum (today Benevento ) and then continue towards Venusia (today's Venous ), Sylvium (today Gravina di Puglia ), Blera (near today's Santeramo ), Subplatia (near today's Laterza ), Canales (today Palagiano ) and Tarentum (today Taranto ). From the Ionian city we continued to Urra (today Oria ) to the destination city Brundisium , a city that was of fundamental importance for the Romans thanks to its port.

² According to the chronicler Riccardo di San Germano (San Germano circa 1170-1243) , the marriage would take place in 1191 and also the ceremony for the official investiture as described in his work "Chronica":"1191. (...) King Tancredi, passing from Sicily to Puglia, held a solemn meeting in Termoli, went to Abruzzo, besieged Count Rinaldo and forced him to pass under his power again; and from here, going to Brindisi, he marries the daughter of Isaac, emperor of Constantinople, that is Urania, to his son Roger, his second son. And solemnly celebrated the wedding in Brindisi and here crowned king son of him, the nicknamed king returned to Sicily triumphant and glorious (...). " ³ Also known as Tancred of Lecce (Lecce, circa 1138 - 20 February 1194) . He became Count of Lecce , Norman county which included the current Ostuni, Oria, Campi, Maglie, Otranto, Nardò, Torchiarolo, Squinzano, Novoli, Trepuzzi, Arnesano, Carmiano, Monteroni, Surbo, San Pietro in Lama, Lequile, San Cesario di Lecce, San Donato di Lecce, Cavallino, Lizzanello, Vernole, Melendugno, Roca; Merine, Caprarica, Galugnano, Castrì, Pisignano, Acquarica, Strudà, Vanze, Acaia, Cerceto, Serrano, Stigliano .
Toast like other port cities in today's Puglia , Taranto, Bari, Gallipoli were conquered by Roberto d’Altavilla , known as Robert the Guiscard (Hauteville-la-Guichard, c. 1025 - Kefalonia, July 17, 1085) in 1059. In 1161 he participated in the revolt of Palermo , led by the noble Matteo Bonello with the intention of deposing King William I , called i l Malo (Palermo or Monreale, 1131 – Palermo, 7 May 1166) , cousin of Tancredi himself, in favor of Roger IV . After having conquered the royal palace on March 9, 1161 and imprisoned the king himself in the dungeons, the people decided to stop following the revolt and the insurgents were forced to free the king on March 11, 1161. He was captured by the king and obtained the his "forgiveness" by deciding to send him into exile in Constantinople until the year of the Norman king's death in 1166 with the ascent to the throne of his son William II , called the Good (Palermo, December 1153 – Palermo, November 18, 1189) .
Tancred is known for his military expeditions in 1174 by sending a fleet to Alexandria in Egypt to support the Fatmids , Ismaili Shia dynasty , against the Saracen king Saladin (Tikrit, 1137 – Damascus, 4 March 1193) , but the revolt was suppressed and so the Normans gave themselves to sacking along the Mediterranean coasts.
In 1185 he set sail for Durazzo to attack the Byzantine Empire but obtained a defeat suffered by the Basileus Alexis I Comnenus (Constantinople, 1056 - Constantinople, August 15, 1118) .
In 1186 Tancredi, together with the faithful admiral from Brindisi Margarito da Brindisi (1145 circa-1197 or 1200) , decided to help Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus (about 1155 - 1195/1196), rebelled against the Byzantines, achieving great success and thanks to this the Brindisi was appointed p rime minister of the monarchy , Supreme Naval Commander and was awarded the title of Count of Malta .
In 1189 King William II of Sicily died and the question arose as to who was his successor between his aunt Costanza d 'Altavilla (Palermo, 2 November 1154 - Palermo, 27 November 1198) of her, who should be her worthy successor, but she had the opposition of the Norman knights as they did not like her marriage to the king of the Swabian dynasty or of the house of the Hohenstaufen , Henry IV (Nijmegen, November 1165 – Messina, 28 September 1197) . The situation went in Tancred's favor because the emperor Frederick Barbarossa (Waiblingen, 1122 – Saleph, 10 June 1190) he was engaged in the III crusade (1189-1192) in the Holy Land , the spouses were forced to stay in Germany , and so in November 1189 Tancredi became king of Sicily with a coronation ceremony in Palermo and with the consent of Pope Clement III (Rome, about 1130-Rome, March 20, 1991) .
In 1190, Richard I of England , called Lionheart (Oxford, 8 September 1157 – Châlus, 6 April 1199) , king of England , and Philip II Augustus (Gonesse, 21 August 1165 – Mantes-la-Jolie, 14 July 1223) , king of France , were forced to a stop in the port of Messina due to terrible weather conditions , particularly due to winter storms . The coexistence between the two did not last long due to disagreements linked to personal events, and so the French king left Sicily, while the English king remained because he had to clarify the situation of his sister Giovanna of England (Angers, October 1165– Rouen, September 24, 1199) , widow of King Guglilemo II the Good, locked up by the king in the Castello della Zisa , in today's city of Cefalù , for the question of the dowry, as he had not obtained children from her husband, but the Norman king granted him only half of the dowry and so the English king, irritated, decided to plunder the Sicilian city forcing Tancredi to make an agreement. br /> There is no peace for Tancred, because Henry IV decided to attack the kingdom of Sicily, with the help of the Pisan fleet , obtaining a defeat from the Normans and consequently the Empress Constance was captured and imprisoned in Salerno .
His death will reach him on February 20, 1194 due to an illness not yet fully clarified, leaving the kingdom to his younger son William III , called Guglielmino (Palermo, 1185–1198) under the regency of the mother Sibilla di Medania , also known as Sibilla di Acerra (Acerra, 1153–1205) , since his son Roger had died the previous year, and with a trap by the emperor he will deceive Queen Sibyl, sending the innocent William into ruin, becoming king of Sicily in 1194.

⁵ Irene Angelo (Constantinople, 1181 - Hohenstaufen castle, 27 August 1208) , in Greek Ειρήνη , daughter of Emperor Isaac III and Princess Irene probably of dynasty of the Paleoligi , became princess of the kingdom of Sicily with the marriage with Prince Roger of Sicily. When the kingdom of Sicily was subjected to the Swabians, the princess was taken prisoner and in 1197 she married the emperor's son, Philip of Swabia (August 1177 - Bamberg, 21 June 1208) .
She died in 1208 at the Hohenstaufen residence, probably due to the birth of her youngest child.

⁶ Isaac II Angelo (September 1156-Constantinople, February 8, 1204) , in Greek “ Isaakios II Angelos” , son of Andronicus Angelo and Eufrosine Castamofissa . He became emperor when his father was slain by the Byzantine population in 1185. he allies himself with the Saracen king Saladin , in opposition to Barbarossa for the third crusade. The brother Alessio seized the opportunity of popular resentment for the privileges of the three maritime republics, Venice , Genoa and Pisa in 1195 he had him deposed, blinded and taken prisoner, but was freed in 1203 by his son Alessio IV Angelo (1182 - Constantinople, February 8, 1204) thanks to the support of the Venetians and placed on the throne.
The following year both were killed during a popular uprising by Alessio Ducas (Constantinople, 1140 - Constantinople, December 1205) , called Marzuflo by way of her thick eyebrows.

⁷ Rosario Jurlaro (Francavilla Fontana, 23 March 1930) drew from Giambattista Casimiro (ms. D / 8, f.14 of the Bibl. "Annibale de Leo" of Brindisi) who reproduced the shape of the letters and the abbreviations of the original. The reading U in the Latin language used the letter V and therefore the "correct wording" is:"Anno dominicae incarnationis mill (esim) or nonagesimo cent secv (n) do reg (n) ante d (omi) no n (ost) ro Tancredo invictissimo rege anno tertio et feliciter regnante d (omi) no n (ost) ro gloriosiss (imo) rege Rogerio filio eivs an (n) o prima mense av (gv) sti indic (tionis) decimae hoc opvs factvu (m) est ad honore (m) eorv (n) dem regvm ”

⁸ Pasquale Camassa (Brindisi, 24 December 1858 – Mesagne, 10 December 1941) known by the people of Brindisi with the nickname “Papa Pascalinu” . He went down in history as one of Brindisi's greatest lovers of the twentieth century, contributing to the publication of books such as the "Brindisi Guide" published in 1897 and 1910, “Brindisini illustri” in 1909 and “The Romanity of Brindisi” through his history and his monumental remains in 1934.
In 1890 he took the place of the archaeologist and great expert from Brindisi , Giovanni Tarantini (Brindisi, 15 November 1805 – Brindisi, 9 February 1889) in the Civic Museum , today's "Francesco Ribezzo" Provincial Museum. In 1921 he founded the "Brigade of lovers of history and art" and the ferragostale melonata was the promoter of the Brindisi tradition .
On 7 December 1941 the city will be bombed, Camassa will be wounded, with his house completely destroyed, and transported to the hospital in Mesagne where he will die on 10 December 1941.

⁹ Camassa Pasquale, Guide of Brindisi , Brindisi, Commercial Edition, 1910, pag.

¹⁰ Ferrante Loffredo , governor of the Land of Otranto , region of the then kingdom of Naples including the current provinces of Brindisi (removing Fasano and Cisternino) , of Lecce , and a part of the province of Taranto and of Matera until 1663.

¹¹ The deer head it was used as the coat of arms of the city, still in use today. I messapi they called the city Brunda , or deer head because if you look at the city through a map, you can see the shape of the animal's head. The horns , depicted in the coat of arms, symbolize the port , in particular the branches of the inland port :the Seno di Ponente (right of the port) and the Seno di Levante (left of the port) . ² The coat of arms it is of the Samnite type , also called s modern French cudo , with a rectangular shape where the lower corners they are rounded by circular arcs with a radius of half a module . In the case of Loffredo the tip is decorated from a ribbon-like decoration which rests on a simple base , linear circular . The emblem in white stone is abraded in the body of the shield where you can see some gaps and irregularities in the left margin , and also in the 'lower right corner and in the 'upper left corner of the frame with a worn ribbon and discontinued in several places.

¹³ Emperor Charles V he wanted to insert his weapon in all the fortifications of the city, for example it is present in Porta Mesagne and Porta Lecce . In the arms are all his possessions, the Kingdom of Spain , the Holy Roman Empire , Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Burgundy . ¹⁴ Charles of Habsburg (Ghent, 24 February 1500-Cuacos de Yuste, 21 September 1558) . He is known as Charles I of Spain , Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , Charles IV of Naples and Charles II, Duke of Burgundy . Son of Philip of Habsburg , called il Bello (Bruges, 22 July 1478 – Burgos, 25 September 1506) and of Joan of Aragon (Toledo, November 6, 1479 – Tordesillas, April 12, 1555) , known for her madness.
At just six years old, in 1506 he inherited the territories of his father , the Netherlands , Luxembourg , the Artois and Franche-Comté .
In 1515 with the death of his mother Giovanna, he obtained the territories of Castile , and the following year in 1516 with the death of his maternal grandfather Ferdinand II of Aragon , called the Catholic (Sos, 10 March 1452 - Madrigalejo, 23 January 1516) , inherits the territory of Aragon . He not only inherits the Spanish territories but also the Kingdom of Naples and the American colonies .
On 12 August 1519 the paternal grandfather Maximilian I of Habsburg dies (Wiener Neustadt, 22 March 1459 - Wels, 12 January 1519) and was elected Holy Roman Emperor in Frankfurt, while the coronation ceremony took place in the cathedral of Aachen , once the seat of the court of the emperor Charlemagne , on 23 October 1520 by the Archbishop of Cologne .
From that day on he will be the most feared sovereign by the other European powers, in particular by the France of Francis I of Valois (Cognac, 12 September 1494 - Rambouillet, 31 March 1547) and from the England of Henry VIII Tudor (Greenwich, June 28, 1491 - London, January 28, 1547) .
In 1521 he decided to go down to Italy and occupied the Duchy of Milan , under French control, and four years later in 1525 he defeated the French army in the battle of Pavia . The other Italian cities, in particular Venice and Florence with the addition of the Papal State , fearing the imperial threat they decided to ally with France.
In 1529 an agreement was signed between Charles V and Francis I of France, the P ace of Cambrai , which put an end to any French claim on Italy.
In 1530 the emperor brought back the Medici dynasty , in the city of Florence , and in the same year the Pope Clement VII (Florence, May 26, 1478 - Rome, September 25, 1534) crowned him king of Italy on February 22 in Bologna .
In 1536 hostilities resumed against France for the "Milanese question" first with Francis I and then with his son E nrico II of Valois (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, March 31, 1519 – Paris , July 10, 1559) , until 1556 when the Peace of Cateu-Cambrèsis was signed which definitively sanctioned Spanish rule over Italy.
Charles V did not have to resolve foreign policy issues, but also religious issues since on Wednesday of October 31, 1519 a German Augustinian monk , Martin Luther (Eisleben, 10 November 1483 - Eisleben, 18 February 1546) posted on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral the famous 95 theses that will cause a sensation in the Roman papal court. So the emperor decided to fight the Lutherans with the Edict of Worms of 1521, who excommunicated them.
In 1526 and 1529 he summoned two Diets in the city of Speyer (current Speyer in Germany), where in the first it resulted in a temporary suspension of the edict of 1521 and aid for the expansion of Protestantism , but they were repudiated three years later. In 1531 the Protestant princes they decided to found the Lega di Smalcalda , with which they will go to arms in the war of 1546-1547, obtaining a Catholic victory that will be useless due to the emperor's recognition of the Peace of Augusta of 1555 granting the right to the German princes the religion to practice.
Another of the many questions that the emperor had to resolve is the "Ottoman question" . Sultan Suleiman II (Trebizond, November 6, 1494 - Szigetvár, September 6, 1566) , in 1529 he approached the city of Vienna and his fleets attacked the Spanish coasts and of Southern Italy . The emperor could not remain impassive and decided to attack them, conquering Tunis in 1535 but he had to retire due to a terrible storm in an attempt to conquer Algiers .
he continued the colonial policy in the Americas of his predecessors, but age begins to make itself felt for him who decided to abdicate in 1555-1556 by retiring to the convent of Yuste where he died in 1558 leaving the Austrian crown to his brother Ferdinand I of Habsburg (Alcalá de Henares, 10 March 1503 - Vienna, 25 July 1564) and the crown of Spain with all the territories in his possession to his son Philip II (Valladolid, May 21, 1527 – San Lorenzo de El Escorial, September 13, 1598) .