The inscription (1940) occupies the front of the Empire’s Fountain, built by the Province of Brindisi in via Pasquale Camassa. The author of the text is unknown.

The text, carved in Roman square capitals, is very simple. It records the date, mentions the monarch and the Head of Government and cites the public institution that funded it, using the classical abbreviation for fieri fecit. Notably, the date is not indicated by a common Fascist formula such as a fascibus restitutis or a fascibus renovatis (i.e., from the restitution or renewal of the fasces). Instead, the year is given with the formula ab Italia per fasces renovata, meaning from the renewal of the entire nation thanks to the Fascist regime.

The fountain faces the Adriatic Sea and stands at the foot of the steps leading to Piazza Santa Teresa, where the monument to the fallen soldiers of the First World War rises. This location symbolizes both the imperial ambitions of Fascist Italy over the Mediterranean (mare nostrum) and, more subtly, its perceived connection with ancient Rome: Brindisi is the city where the Appian Way ends and from which the Roman army set sail to conquer the East. On the other hand, it also symbolizes the link Fascist ideology forged between the victory in the Great War and the foundation of a new Italian, Fascist empire.

The fountain was designed by architect Iginio Grassi. Just above the inscription, it features three sculpted high reliefs: at the centre, the imperial eagle; on the left, the city's coat of arms; and on the right, the arms of the province. The municipality restored the fountain in 2020.

Antonino Nastasi