THE COLLECTION
The Faldetta Archaeological Collection is housed in the Palazzina del Belvedere on the Brindisi seafront. The building, born at the beginning of the 20th century as a final arrangement for the Virgilian staircase, is located a few steps from the Roman Columns and from what is claimed to be the house where the poet Virgil died in 19 BC. The panoramic terrace, known as "del Belvedere" overlooks the port, which was the scene of the battle between Caesar and Pompey during the siege of Brindisi in 49 BC.
As ordinarily happens with private archaeological collections, unfortunately all data relating to the provenance and context of origin of the finds has been lost, so that the identification of the factories and the very dating of the individual objects are to be considered generic and are based on stylistic or formal evaluations . However, it is possible to believe that the 363 finds are essentially of Apulian origin.
The collection has been subjected to protection pursuant to Law 1 June 1939 n. 1089, with Ministerial Decree of 18 October 1978 proposed by the Archaeological Superintendency of Puglia.
The finds conserved there cover a chronological arc that goes from the end of the Recent Bronze Age, with the Mycenaean stirrup jar belonging to TE IIIB, to the Middle Ages.
The most conspicuous nucleus is made up of terracotta vases and clay figurines, but there are also finds in other materials such as bronze, glass and vitreous paste.
Among the imported ceramics there are piriform and globular aryballoi and Corinthian alabastra, datable between the 7th and 6th centuries. B.C. abundantly attested throughout the Mediterranean basin and in central-southern Italy. The decorative motifs are typical of Corinthian pottery: zoomorphic friezes with real or fantastic animals, combat scenes and mythological representations.