Of Otranto, the baroque blue
kidnaps me one afternoon
For that Arab dream
inprisoned into your apse
Dreamy siesta, half-closed eyes
The god of sleep comes down
aims the enchantment
of Otranto
Otranto (Hydruntum at the time of the Romans, Uṭṛàntu in the Salento dialect) is one of the most beautiful cities of Southern Adriatic, thanks to its remarkable artistic heritage, its monuments, its suggestive alleys, its splendid sea, its white beaches, and its beautiful coast. Otranto is located in the most eastern part of Italy, and is therefore nicknamed the "Gate of the East" and for many centuries it was the major political, cultural and commercial center (thanks also to the activity of its port) of "Terra d'Otranto”, which today corresponds to Salento. The charm of the easternmost city of Italy is easily perceived: the sight of its ramparts, the subdued trampling of stone-paved streets, the intersection with the granite balls of the Saracen bombardments, the intact air of a heroic story that exceeds the laws of time; everything takes us back to the crossroads of cultures and arts that at the same time marked the fortune and drama of Otranto. In the cathedral, an authentic masterpiece of architecture raised from 1080 to 1088, there is the ambience of the early Byzantine Christian church of Ravenna, S. Apollinare in Classe; the crypt with its 42 columns looks like a miniature of the "Blue Mosque" of Constantinople. And still the castle whose reinforcement were made by Federico II of Svevia, the Byzantine church of Saint Peter and close by the Alimini lakes
Completed in 1088, with its 54 meters long and 25 meters high, it is the largest Cathedral of Puglia. On the façade, Romanesque style, there is a magnificent Renaissance rose window, with 16 transennas converging in the center. The beautiful portal, in Baroque style, was added in 1674, and presents the emblem of Archbishop Gabriele Adarzo of Santander supported by two angels.
The interior of the Cathedral is divided into three naves by two rows of columns, in polished granite, adorned with 12th century capitals. Then there are some valuable frescoes from the Byzantine period, and numerous decorative elements worthy of interest, but the true masterpiece of the Cathedral, is represented by the majestic floor mosaic, executed between 1163 and 1165 by the monk Presbitero Pantaleone
With its 600 meters of surface, made with polychrome tesserae of very hard local limestone, it has been the subject of numerous studies and researches. It depicts "The Tree of Life" and it is a synthesis of pagan culture (for the presence of the zodiac signs), Christian culture (for the presence of biblical scenes) and western culture (for the presence of chivalrous cycles). It tells the story of man, from Adam and Eve to the 12th century, and represents an authentic poem in three songs: Creation, Redemption, and Resurrection.br>
In the Chapel of the Martyrs, the most venerated place in the city, are the mortal remains of the eight hundred Martyrs of Otranto, victims of the massacre perpetrated by the Ottomans in August 1480
Built on previous fortifications by Ferdinand of Aragon in the years between 1485 and 1489, the imposing Aragonese Castle has a pentagonal plan, with three cylindrical towers (called ZTorre Alfonsina, Torre Ippolita and Torre Duchesca), and is surrounded by a large moat. On the entrance portal is the coat of arms of Charles V. The architect in charge of the construction was Ciro Ciri, a military engineer at the court of Urbino
Built around the 9th century, it is located in the center of the old city. It has a square plan and has a Greek cross-shaped interior with three semicircular apses and eight columns, and four of them, with pulvino capitals, support the central monolithic dome, whilst the other four, are half set in the walls. Here too there are some important Byzantine frescoes, such as the "Annunciation" placed on the dome of the altar, with the "Apostles" and the "Resurrection" on either side
In the enchanting scenery of the Valley of Memories in Otranto, a dovecote tower stands on an articulated complex of caves and underground caves.
Just outside the town of Otranto, along the fascinating stretch of the Valle delle Memorie, where the Idro river flows, stands the hypogeum of Torre Pinta, discovered only in 1976, part of a rock complex, in the heart of an area characterized by archaeological and anthropological evidences attested since the early Christian age. It is a walkway leading to the tower, a hypogeum with a Latin cross, particularly striking thanks to the many niches carved along the walls, a sort of stone lace that refines the structure. The original circular compartment, at the end of the entrance corridor, has lost its original vault therefore it is roofless. In the seventeenth century on top of it a dovecote in the shape of a cylindrical tower was built. According to the most accepted hypothesis, it is a pre-Christian environment used as a funerary cult and then transformed into a liturgical place by primitive Christian communities in the pre-Constantinian age. The area where the tower and the hypogeum are located are part of an accommodation facility