The Province of Brindisi () is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. It has an area of and a total population of 401,652 (2013). Geography The Province of Brindisi is situated in southeastern Italy, extending for , the second smallest province in the region after the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It was established in 1927 from the ancient Terra d'Otranto. With the Adriatic Sea to the east, it is bordered to the north by the Province of Bari, on the west by the Province of Taranto and to the south-east by the Province of Lecce. The northern, central and western parts are hilly with much woodland, with the Murgia hills of particular note, while to the north-west, bordering on the provinces of Taranto and Bari, it is lower-lying, with the Itria Valley (Valle d'Itria). The maximum height reached within the province is above sea level, near Selva di Fasano. The other peaks are slightly lower and are all located in the north-central area. The coastline in the province is long, partly rocky, with many alternating stretches of sandy beaches, small harbours and bays. To the south it is essentially flat and widely used for crops. The province, according to the Geological Map of Italy, prepared by the Geological Survey of Italy, is composed of various types of land: in the central-southern area there is a predominance of dolomitic limestone (present generally in the inhabited zone from the plateau of the Murgia), small eluvial deposits, sand, clay, grey silted marshes (around Francavilla Fontana, Oria and San Donaci), chalk and limestone, including firm bioclastic limestone and chalky sandstone. In the north-central part, particularly Bari and Mola, the limestone stems from the Late Cretaceous, and deposits of limestone and sandstone date back to the Pleistocene. There are no significant rivers, because of the karst terrain, but there are many springs that gush out producing little streams. As for waterways, the longest is the Canale Reale, which flows into the territory of Villa Castelli, bordering Francavilla Fontana, and flows into the Natural Reserve of Torre Guaceto. Along the coast, in addition, there are numerous ponds and small freshwater lakes, fed by underground aquifers. Demography In 1861, the province had a total population of 114,790 which grew steadily until 2001 when there were 402,422 inhabitants. It has been more or less static since 2002 when there were