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Otranto

Otranto

The ancient Hydruntum rises on the most easterly point in Italy, about 30 km from Lecce. It was firstly a colony of the Magna Graecia and then a Roman municipium. For a long time it was the political, cultural and trading centre of Salento, known as the “Terra d’Otranto”. Before its destruction at the hands of the Turks in 1480, the city held a position of great importance during Byzantine and Norman domination, leaving behind them much artistic evidence. Otranto, the meeting point of different cultures and the crossroads between the Mediterranean and the East, developed on a rocky spur right on the sea.

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Bell Tower - Otranto
Castle - Otranto
Maglie, Otranto, Calimera

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Just a few kilometres north of the city lie the Almini Lakes, fresh water bodies of water that flow into the sea, boasting beaches along their shores that are numbered among the most popular in Puglia.
Otranto is full of ideas which, other than satisfying bathing tourists’ requirements (Blue Flag 2006), offer lots of interesting things to do for a holiday based on scenery, history and culture. Walking around the old part of the town, you will be fascinated by the old district enclosed within the Aragon walls, with white houses and little streets paved with bare stone that converge on the beautiful cathedral. This church is the largest in Puglia and is characterised by its Romanesque-Pugliese style façade dominated by the impressive Renaissance rose window with Gothic-Arabic influences. As a testimony to the tragic battle of 1480, the cathedral hosts the skulls of some of its decapitated citizens. There is also a beautiful castle which was extended by the Aragons to increase the town’s existing defence. Lastly, those of you who love discovering the origins of areas can’t miss Cervi Grotto in Porto Badisco, with its rock paintings confirming the existence of human civilization here during the Neolithic Age.

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Population: 5282
Province: Lecce
Patron Saint: Beati Martiri Idruntini (14 agosto)
Area Code: 0836
Town website: www.comune.otranto.le.it

Sources: By the editorial staff
Updated on: 09/09/2010

European Union
Regione Puglia Regione Puglia
Department Mediterranean -
Culture - Tourism

© Copyright Regione Puglia 2007-2012
Puglia Promozione

Project created in collaboration with InnovaPuglia.