Under the rule of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, Charles III’s son -and after all the solicitations of the minister Carlo De Marco from Brindisi- the engineer Andrea Pigonati was hired to direct the works in the harbour. In 1778 Pigonati completed the channel which connected the middle port with the internal one, but he made many mistakes and the engineer Carlo Pollio offered his helpful intervention. In 1779 the Neapolitan patriots helped by the French proclaimed the fall of the kingdom of Naples and the birth of the “ Partenopea Republic” (Repubblica Partenopea). In the same year, though, Ferdinand IV came back to power.
Teodoro Monticelli from Brindisi took part in the revolt. He was a Celestine man of science moved by religious ideals and freedom.
In 1805 the French conquered the kingdom of Naples and with Murat Brindisi had its own first tradesmen constituency and a first class harbour office.
After the congress of Vienna in 1815, the Bourbons came back in power and 1835 Ferdinand II summoned a commission, in which the cartographer Benedetto Marzolla took part, to discuss the needs of the people. This commission was presided by Alberto Majo until 1848 and the works lasted until the Unification of Italy (1861).