Otranto

Otranto occupies the site of an ancient town of Greek origin. In Roman times it was a city in the Provincia Calabria. As it is the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, it was perhaps more important than Brindisi, under the Roman emperors as a point of embarkation for the East, as the distance to Apollonia was less than from Brundisi.

The name of Otranto is linked to the tragic events which took place in July 1480, when a fleet of Turkish warships besieged the town. The Turks' bold plan was to subdue Italy and France and join forces with the Muslims ruling Spain; but they were caught unawares by the unexpected resistance of the inhabitants of Otranto, who held them at bay for fifteen days. Eventually the Muslims broke into the town and ordered the Christians to abjure.

On their refusal, the Turks breached the Cathedral and killed Bishop Stefano Pendinelli and all the others who had taken refuge within the walls. About 800 of the townsfolk were transported to the nearby Minerva hill and beheaded for having refused to deny their faith. They were declared martyrs by the church and their bones kept in seven tall cabinets in the Cathedral of Otranto.

The Cathedral of Otranto was completed in the 12th century. It has a beautiful Baroque portal and a fine rose window. The interior is magnificent, its floor inlaid with one of the largest mosaics extant, completed between 1163 and 1166.

The church of San Pietro which is a 10th/11th century Byzantine construction which once may possibly have been the Cathedral. It is almost square, on a Greek-cross plan, and is divided into three small semicircular apses.

Otranto also holds a castle built by Ferdinand of Aragon on the site of a pre-existing fortification from the era of Frederick II. It is laid out on a pentagonal plan with three round towers and bulwarks facing towards the sea.