Description
The Scalinata Virgiliana is the grand staircase on Brindisi's waterfront, named after the house of Virgil that once stood here. The poet of the Aeneid died in Brindisi in 19 BC, shortly after returning from a journey to Greece.
On the steps you can read an inscription recalling the poet's death, and the structure still preserves its round arches. Until the early 20th century it was half as wide: it was enlarged in 1933, when it took on its present look.
The poet's house stood in the little square in front of the Roman columns, the symbol of the city, on the rise overlooking the harbor. Back then Brindisi was the most important port for Greece and the East.
Virgil knew this harbor well: to describe the place where Aeneas lands, he drew on Brindisi itself, with its deer-head shape that shelters it from attack.
On the steps you can read an inscription recalling the poet's death, and the structure still preserves its round arches. Until the early 20th century it was half as wide: it was enlarged in 1933, when it took on its present look.
The poet's house stood in the little square in front of the Roman columns, the symbol of the city, on the rise overlooking the harbor. Back then Brindisi was the most important port for Greece and the East.
Virgil knew this harbor well: to describe the place where Aeneas lands, he drew on Brindisi itself, with its deer-head shape that shelters it from attack.