Near the port of Brindisi a set of monumental stairs climb from the waterfront to a small square with a column and the remains of another. These are the Roman Columns of Brindisi, the origins and purpose of which are still unknown. Historically, it’s believed the columns marked the end of the Via Appia, a massive Roman road that connected the capital to the port of Brindisi, or the Via Traiana, a later alternative to the Via Appia. Only one remains, the second having been misappropriated and removed to the neighbouring town of Lecce.
Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.