Why the deer is the symbol of Brindisi

In short: The deer is the symbol of Brindisi because the city’s name comes from the Messapian word meaning «deer’s head», as Strabo recorded. The reason is the harbour: its two arms, the Seno di Ponente and the Seno di Levante, look like antlers from above, and the city sits right where the head would be.

In Brindisi you keep coming across a deer’s head: on the city’s coat of arms, on official documents, in the logos of businesses and associations. Visitors wonder why, since there are no deer in town. The answer lies in the name of Brindisi, and in the shape of its harbour.

A name that means «deer’s head»

Before the Greeks and the Romans, this part of Apulia was home to the Messapians. In their language, the word that gave the city its name meant deer’s head. The Greek geographer Strabo, who lived between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, already tells us so: for the Greeks the city was Brentesion, for the Romans Brundisium, and from there comes today’s Brindisi.

Why a deer: the shape of the harbour

Look at a map and it becomes clear. Brindisi’s inner harbour reaches into the land and splits into two arms, the Seno di Ponente and the Seno di Levante, which embrace the old town. Seen from above, the two arms look like a deer’s antlers, and the city sits right where the head would be.

It is the same harbour that made Brindisi’s fortune for two thousand years: sheltered, deep, perfectly placed for sailing east. The shape that made it so valuable is also what gave the city its name.

The deer today

That is why the deer’s head is on the city’s coat of arms, and why it has become the simplest way to say «Brindisi» with a picture. You will find it in the logos of businesses, associations and local initiatives: whoever chooses it is not drawing an animal, but the harbour and the history of the city.

How to «see» the deer

You don’t visit the deer: you look at it from above or from the sea. From the base of the Monumento al Marinaio d’Italia, on the shore opposite the centre, you can clearly see how the harbour opens up and divides. For more context, the What to see route starts right at the harbour, from the Roman Columns to the Swabian Castle.

From the sea the shape is even clearer: sailing in and out of the harbour, you pass right between the «antlers». We tell you about it in Sailing in Brindisi.