Clinging to the back heel of the Italian boot, the marble-clad port town of Brindisi once marked the very end of the Roman Appian Way. It was here that troupes of legionnaires were shipped out across the Mediterranean to do battle in the far corners of the eastern empire; here that countless cultures and creeds flooded in and out of Italy with silks, spices and slaves to trade. No wonder then that the Brindisi of today is nothing short of a palimpsest of historical influences, with elaborate Doric columns, one startling Romanesque duomo, and an Aragonese Castle, all peppering the city’s innards.

However, modern life here has certainly taken a turn for the sleepy since the boom days of antiquity. Most travellers now pass over Brindisi with just a cursory glance before heading straight for the ever-present outlines of passenger ferries that bob in the port, bound for Greece or Croatia or the Italian North. That said, the town promises a smattering of hidden eateries touting Apulian reds and whites, earthy durum lasagne dishes and the like along with some truly untrodden historical points of interest, well worth exploring with the help of a Brindisi tour guide!