Otranto

Otranto
Comune
Comune di Otranto

Otranto seen from the castle
Coat of arms of Otranto
Coat of arms
Otranto

Location of Otranto in Italy

Coordinates: 40°09′N 18°29′E / 40.150°N 18.483°E / 40.150; 18.483
Country Italy
Region  Apulia
Province / Metropolitan city Lecce (LE)
Frazioni Porto Badisco, Conca Spellucchia
Government
  Mayor Luciano Cariddi
Area
  Total 76 km2 (29 sq mi)
Elevation 15 m (49 ft)
Population (December 2013)
  Total 5,670
  Density 75/km2 (190/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Idruntini or Otrantini
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 73028
Dialing code 0836
Patron saint Blessed Otrantine Martyrs
Saint day August 14
Website Official website

Otranto (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɔːtranto]; Latin: Hydruntum) is a town and comune in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.

It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. The harbour is small and has little trade.

The lighthouse Faro della Palascìa, at approximately 5 kilometres (3 miles) southeast of Otranto, marks the most easterly point of the Italian mainland.

About 50 kilometres (31 mi) south lies the promontory of Santa Maria di Leuca (so called since ancient times from its white cliffs, leukos being Greek for white), the southeastern extremity of Italy, the ancient Promontorium lapygium or Sallentinum. The district between this promontory and Otranto is thickly populated and very fertile.

History

The fortress
Historic map of Otranto by Piri Reis.

Otranto occupies the site of the ancient Hydrus (in Greek: Ὑδροῦς) or Hydruntum (in Latin), also known as Hydrunton, Hydronton, or Hydruntu. Otranto was a town of Greek origin, which, in the wars of Pyrrhus and of Hannibal sided against Rome.

In Roman times it was a city. As it is the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, it was perhaps more important than Brundisium (present Brindisi), under the Roman emperors as a point of embarkation for the East, as the distance to Apollonia was less than from Brundisium.

In the 8th century, it was for some time in the possession of duke Arechis II of Benevento. It remained in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it was among the last cities of Apulia to surrender to the Norman Robert Guiscard in 1068, and then became part of the Principality of Taranto. In the Middle Ages the Jews had a school there.

Ottoman Invasion

Skulls of "Martyrs of Otrano" on display in Otranto cathedral.

In 1480, Mehmet the Conqueror sent an Ottoman fleet to invade Rome under the command of Gedik Ahmed Pasha. This force reached the shores of Apulia on 28 July 1480 and the city was captured in two weeks on 11 August 1480. Some 800 citizens, known as the "Martyrs of Otranto," were beheaded after refusing to convert to Islam. They were canonized by Pope Francis on 12 May 2013.[1]

Between August and September 1480, the Italian and European kingdoms failed to help King Ferdinand of Naples, except his cousin Ferdinand the Catholic, the Kingdom of Sicily and, later, the Republic of Genoa.[2] In 1481, the Pope, in panic, called for a crusade to be led by King Ferdinand of Naples, and was joined by troops of Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus. The Turks controlled the city for 13 months. Mehmet II died on his way to capture the rest of Italy.[3] His successor, Bayezid II, ordered Gedik Ahmed Pasha to be hanged and on 11 September 1481 the Turks abandoned the city.

In 1537, the famous Turkish corsair and Ottoman admiral Barbarossa recaptured Otranto and the Fortress of Castro, but the Turks were again repulsed from the city and from the rest of Apulia.

Napoleonic Wars

In 1804, the city was obliged to harbour a French garrison that was established there to watch the movements of the English fleet. Under the French name of Otrante it was created a duché grand-fief de l'Empire in the Napoleonic kingdom of Naples for Joseph Fouché, Napoleon's minister of Police (1809), the grandfather of Margareta Fouché. The family used the title of duc d'Otrante after Joseph Fouché's death.

Sea front

Climate

Otranto experiences a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa) like much of Italy.

Climate data for Otranto
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 13.0
(55.4)
13.5
(56.3)
15.7
(60.3)
18.9
(66)
24.4
(75.9)
27.0
(80.6)
28.7
(83.7)
28.5
(83.3)
25.8
(78.4)
22.3
(72.1)
17.3
(63.1)
14.0
(57.2)
20.76
(69.36)
Average low °C (°F) 7.2
(45)
8.2
(46.8)
9.6
(49.3)
10.0
(50)
12.1
(53.8)
15.9
(60.6)
21.2
(70.2)
21.1
(70)
16.0
(60.8)
12.7
(54.9)
10.3
(50.5)
8.3
(46.9)
12.72
(54.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 52
(2.05)
60
(2.36)
81
(3.19)
83.3
(3.28)
83.6
(3.291)
110.7
(4.358)
85.8
(3.378)
67.5
(2.657)
114.6
(4.512)
100.2
(3.945)
80.7
(3.177)
53.3
(2.098)
972.2
(38.276)
Average precipitation days 6.7 7.1 8.2 8.1 6.9 7.3 5.8 5.1 7.7 7.5 7.2 6.6 84.2
Source: Italian Ministry of Defence[4]

Main sights

The Cathedral of Otranto
Torre Sant'Emiliano, not far from the Palascìa lighthouse
The harbor of Otranto seen from the historic center

Otranto main sights include:

Culture

Otranto is the setting of Horace Walpole's book, The Castle of Otranto, which is generally held to be the first Gothic novel. It is also mentioned in Bram Stoker's novel The Lady of the Shroud.

International relations

Twin towns Sister cities

Otranto is twinned with:

See also

Sources and references

References

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