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Introducing Otranto
Entering Otranto’s walled historic centre feels like entering a fortress. Great golden walls guard narrow car-free lanes, protecting countless pretty little shops selling touristic odds and ends. In July and August it’s one of Puglia’s most popular haunts, with excited holidaymakers providing a packed-out carnival atmosphere. Much is closed in the low season.
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Otranto was an important town. It was Italy’s main port to the Orient for a thousand years, and suffered a brutal history. There are fanciful tales that King Minos was here and St Peter is supposed to have celebrated the first Western Mass here.
A more definite historical event is the Sack of Otranto in 1480, when 18,000 Turks besieged the town and killed 800 faithful Christians who refused to convert.
Today, the only fright you’ll get is the summer crush on Otranto’s scenic beaches and in its narrow streets.
The tourist office (0836 80 14 36; Piazza Castello; 9am-1pm & 3-8pm Mon-Fri Jun-Sep, 9am-1pm Mon-Fri Oct-May) faces the castle.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
