Comune di Otranto
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Puglia
Province	Lecce (LE)
Mayor
Elevation	15 m
Area	76 km²
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2004)	5,487
- Density	69/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	40°09′N, 18°29′E
Gentilic	Idruntini or Otrantini
Dialing code	0836
Postal code	73028
Patron	Blesses Otrantine Martyrs
- Day	August 14
Location of Otranto in Italy
Website: www.comune.otranto.le.it

Otranto is a town and commune in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region, and once famous for its breed of horses. Image File history File links Otranto-Stemma. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... The Regions of Italy were granted a degree of regional autonomy in the 1948 constitution, which states that the constitutions role is: to recognize, protect and promote local autonomy, to ensure that services at the State level are as decentralized as possible, and to adapt the principles and laws... Apulia is a region of Italy (called Puglia in Italian), bordering on Molise to the north-west, Campania to the south-west, Basilicata to the south, the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Ionian Sea to the south-east. ... In Italy, a province (in Italian: provincia) is an administrative division of intermediate level between municipality (comune) and region (regione). ... Lecce (It. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Time zones of Europe: Light colours indicate countries that do not observe summer time Central European Time (CET) is one of the names of the time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. ... Central European Time West Africa Time British Summer Time* Irish Summer Time* Western European Summer Time* Category: ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a people or the inhabitants of a place. ... Here are a list of area codes in Italy. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Italy_Regions_220px_(including_Pelagie_Islands). ... Image File history File links Red_pog. ... Lecce (It. ... This article is about the Italian region. ...

Otranto is situated on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea. The harbour is small and has little trade. Salento Salento (Salentu in dialect) is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. ... Map showing the location of the Strait of Otranto. ... A satellite image of the Adriatic Sea. ... The Ionian Sea. ...

The Castle of Otranto.

About 50 km southeast 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. Image File history File links Otranto_castello. ... Image File history File links Otranto_castello. ... The lighthouse of Santa Maria di Leuca. ...

History

Otranto occupies the site of the ancient Hydrus or Hydruntum, a town of Greek origin, which, in the wars of Pyrrhus and of Hannibal sided against Rome.

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 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. A portion of the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman map of the 4th century, depicting the southern part of Italia. ... Brundisium (Gr. ...

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. Arechis II (also Aretchis, Arichis, or Aregis) (d. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Robert Guiscard (i. ... Events Emperor Go-Sanjo ascends the throne of Japan William the Conqueror takes Exeter after a brief siege Births Henry I of England (d. ... The Principality of Taranto was a Norman state created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Apulia. ...

See also Battle of Otranto for the 1480 invasion.

In 1480, without cause or warning , the Turkish fleet invaded and landed nearby and took the city and its fort. The Pope called for a crusade, with a massive force built up by Ferdinand I of Naples, among them notably troops of Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, despite frequent Italian quarreling at the time. The Neapolitan force met with the Turks in 1481, thoroughly annihilating them and recapturing Otranto. However, in the two battles, the city was utterly destroyed, and has never since recovered its importance since the sack of Otranto by the Turks, in which 12,000 men are said to have perished — among them, Bishop Stephen Pendinelli, who was sawn to death. A large percentage of these captured were given the choice of converting to Islam or death - 800 men were beheaded outside the city. The "valley of the martyrs" still recalls this dreadful event. Combatants Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Naples Kingdom of Aragon Kingdom of Hungary Commanders Gedik Ahmed Pasha Francesco Largo † Alphonso II of Naples Strength Between 18,000 and 100,000 men. ... Events March 6 - Treaty of Toledo - Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain recognize African conquests of Afonso of Portugal and he cedes the Canary Islands to Spain Great standing on the Ugra river - Muscovy becomes independent from the Golden Horde. ... Ferdinand I (1423 - January 25, 1494), also called Don Ferrante, was the King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. ... Matthias Corvinus (Mátyás in Hungarian), (February 23, 1443 (?) - April 6, 1490) was one of the greatest Kings of Hungary, ruling between 1458 and 1490. ... Year 1481 was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar). ...

In 1537, the famous Turkish corsair and Ottoman admiral Barbarossa captured Otranto and the Fortress of Castro, but the Turks were eventually repulsed from the city and the rest of Puglia. Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha (Turkish: Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa or Hızır Hayreddin Paşa; also Hızır Reis before being promoted to the rank of Pasha and becoming the Kaptan-ı Derya (Fleet Admiral) of the Ottoman Navy) (c. ...

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 Otranto 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. The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Portugal, Spain and France (in Italy... Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, duc dOtrante (Duke of Otranto) (May 21, 1763 – December 25, 1820) was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. ... Margareta Fouché, duchesse dOtrante, (1909-2005) was the wife of Gustav Albrecht, 5th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and the mother of Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, who is the husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark. ...

The Cathedral of Otranto.

Image File history File linksMetadata Otranto_La_Cattedrale. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Otranto_La_Cattedrale. ...

Main sights

Otranto main monuments include:

• The Castello Aragonese (Castle), reinforced by Emperor Frederick II and rebuilt by Alfonso I of Aragon in 1485-1498. It has an irregular plan with five sides, with a moat running along the entire perimeter. In origin it had a single entrance, reachable through a draw-bridge. Towers include three cylindrical ones an a bastion called Punta di Diamante ("Diamond's Head"). The entrance sports the coat of arms of Emperor Charles V.
• The Cathedral, consecrated in 1088, a work of Count Roger I adorned later (about 1163), by Bishop Jonathas, with a mosaic floor; it has a rose window and side portal of 1481. The interior, a basilica with nave and two aisles, contains columns said to come from a temple of Minerva and a fine mosaic pavement of 1166, with interesting representations of the months, Old Testament subjects and others. It has a crypt supported by forty-two marble columns. The same Count Roger also founded a Basilian monastery here, which, under Abbot Nicetas, became a place of study; its library was nearly all bought by Bessarion.
• The church of San Pietro, with Byzantine frescoes.
• The catacombs of Torre Pinta.

Frederick II (December 26, 1194 – December 13, 1250), of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. ... Alfonso I of Aragon the Battler (circa 1073-1134, king of Aragon and Navarre 1104-1134). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands (1506-1555), King of Spain (1516-1556), King of Naples and Sicily (1516-1554), Archduke of Austria (1519-1521), King of the Romans (or German King), (1519-1556 but did not formally abdicate until 1558) and... Events Succession of Pope Urban II (1088-1099) Work begins on the third and largest church at Cluny Rebellion of 1088 against William II of England lead by Odo of Bayeux. ... Year 1481 was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar). ... // Events Marko III succeeds Yoannis V as patriarch of Alexandria. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ... Johannes Bessarion, or Basilius (c. ...

Culture

Otranto is the setting of Horace Walpole's book, The Castle of Otranto, which is generally held to be the first gothic novel. Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, more commonly known as Horace Walpole, (September 24, 1717 – March 2, 1797), was a politician, writer and forerunner of the Gothic revival. ... The Castle of Otranto is a 1764 novel by Horace Walpole. ... Strawberry Hill, an English villa in the Gothic revival style, built by seminal Gothic writer Horace Walpole The gothic novel was a literary genre that belonged to Romanticism and began in the United Kingdom with The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. ...

See also

• Bishopric of Otranto
• Battle of Otranto

The city of Otranto, Italy is the see of an archiepiscopal diocese. ... Combatants Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Naples Kingdom of Aragon Kingdom of Hungary Commanders Gedik Ahmed Pasha Francesco Largo † Alphonso II of Naples Strength Between 18,000 and 100,000 men. ...

Sources and references

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
• Heraldica.org- Napoleonic
• GigaCatholic

Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

External links

• Guide of Otranto
• archdiocsan website (Italian)
• Adrian Fletcher’s Paradoxplace – Otranto Cathedral Mosaics Photo Page
• Otranto Guide

Puglia · Comuni of the Province of Lecce

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