Otranto
Country: Italy
Region: Puglia
Province: Lecce
Coordinates: 40 ° 9'0 "N 18 ° 29'0" E / 18.48333 ° N 40.15 ° E / 40.15; 18.48333Coordinate: 40 ° 9'0 "N 18 ° 29'0" E / 40.15 ° N 18.48333 ° E / 40.15, 18.48333
Altitude: 15 m s.l.m.
Area: 76.2 km ²
Population: 5545 November 2010
Density: 72.77 inhabitants / km ²
Fractions: Port Badisco, Conca Specchiulla
Surrounded by Cannock, Carpignano Salentino, Giurdignano, Melendugno, Palmariggi, Santa Cesarea Terme, Uggiano Church
Zip Code: 73028
Dialing code: 0836
ISTAT code: 075057
Land Code: G188
Inhabitants name: Otranto or Otrantian
Patron Saint: Blessed Martyrs of Otranto
Holiday: August 14
Otranto (Otranto) is an Italian town in 5545 [1] inhabitants in the province of Lecce in Puglia. Located along the east coast of the Salento peninsula is the easternmost town in Italy, the head of the same name, also called Punta Palascìa, outside the town, is the most easterly of the Italian peninsula.
First Messapic center and Roman, then Byzantine and later Aragonese, is built around the impressive castle and cathedral. Archbishop's residence and major tourist center, has given its name to the Strait of Otranto, which separates Italy from Albania, and the Terra d'Otranto, the ancient district of the Kingdom of Naples. It is part of the club of most beautiful villages in Italy [2] and in 2010 received the five sails Legambiente [3]. In July of that year the UNESCO declared the old town of Otranto assets witnessed a culture of peace [4].
Physical Geography Main article: Geography of Apulia.
Territory
Promenade of EroiPunta Palascìa or Capo d'Otranto, located in the town of Otranto, is the most eastern point of Italy. According to the nautical convention, this place is the point of separation between the Ionian and the Adriatic Sea [5].
The municipality, which covers 76.2 km ², lies between 0 and 101 meters above sea level difference overall with a range of 101 meters. The coast, which covers about 25 km, alternating with long sandy stretches, especially in the northern part, with rocky stretches to the sea. It is bordered to the north by the municipalities and Melendugno Carpignano Salentino, to the west by the towns of Cannock, and Giurdignano Palmariggi, south with the municipalities and the Church of Uggiano Santa Cesarea Terme, on the east by the Adriatic Sea.
Since October 2006, part of its territory falls within the Park Costa Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca and Tricase Forest, established by the Region of Puglia in order to safeguard the east coast of Salento, rich in architectural heritage and floral and faunal species.
[Edit] Climate Main article: Climate and Weather station of Otranto Puglia-Punta Palascia.
The weather station of reference is that of Otranto-Punta Palascia, officially recognized by the World Meteorological Organization, but the current station is a type of automatic DCP.
From the meteorological point of view within the territory of Otranto Salento East which has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot humid summers. Based on the average reference, the average temperature of the coldest month, January, is around +9 ° C, while that of the warmest month, August, is about +24.7 ° C. The rainfall, frequent in autumn and winter, is around 626 mm of rain per year. Spring and summer are characterized by long periods of drought.
Referring to the wind, the towns of Salento East are strongly influenced by the wind across the cold winds of Balkan origin, or hot African origin [6].
Otranto Month Year Season
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Inv Pri East Aut
T. Max. Average (° C) 12.6 13.2 15.0 18.3 22.6 26.8 29.2 29.6 26.2 21.8 17.6 14.2 13.3 18.6 28.5 21,9 20,6
T. min. Average (° C) 5.6 5.8 7.2 9.5 13.1 17.0 19.5 19.9 17.3 13.7 9.9 7.1 6.2 9.9 18.8 13,6 12,1
Precipitation (mm) 71 60 65 40 33 20 16 22 49 80 97 74,205,138 58,226,627
Relative humidity (%) 78.7 78.2 77.8 77.3 76.2 72.9 70.9 72.4 76.5 79.2 80.5 80.3 79.1 77.1 72.1 78,7 76,7
Climate classification of Otranto: [7]
Climatic zone: C
Degree days: 1099
[Edit] History Main article: Terra d'Otranto, History and History of Salento in Puglia.
Terra d'Otranto, an ancient map [edit] Origins and romanoLe messapico period close to Otranto was probably inhabited in the Paleolithic period, certainly from the Neolithic period, the city was later populated by messapi (of which 1995 were discovered in the walls and a port city), race prior to the Greeks, then - conquered by them - joined the Greeks, and, again, fell into the hands of the Romans and soon became the town hall.
The origins of the name
In Roman times it was known as Hydruntum Otranto, by the name of the river valley Hydrus in which the city stands. Other sources [8] give Odruntum Latin name, a word always associated the word water, however, precisely at the end messapico "Odra", just water. The true Otrantini Ótruntu pronounce the name of their country and this is important to trace the origin of the title pre-Roman, which began with a course or accented.
In Roman times, Otranto was one of the most important maritime cities of Apulia. The work of local artisans and merchant was flourishing, especially in the fabrication of the purple and tissues. Was present in Otranto and a Jewish community which suggests the commercial importance that the center could have, and that went beyond the Ionian islands.
The sack of Otranto
On 28 July 1480, the Turkish army from Vlora high of 90 galleys, 40 galeotte and other ships for a total of about 150 boats and 18,000 troops, came under the walls of Otranto.
The city strongly resisted the attacks, but its population of only 6,000 inhabitants could no longer oppose the bombing. In fact, on July 29 the garrison and all the inhabitants left the village in the hands of the Turks, retiring to the citadel and the latter began their raids even in neighboring houses.
When Gedik Ahmed Pasha asked the defenders to surrender, they refused and in response the Turkish artillery shelling resumed. On 11 August, after 15 days of siege, Gedik Ahmed Pasha ordered the final attack during which he managed to break through the defenses and conquer the castle.
Relics of the Martyrs of Otranto CittàNel preserved in the Cathedral of the massacre that ensued, all males over fifteen years were killed, while women and children were enslaved. According to some historical reconstructions, the dead were a total of 12,000 and enslaved 5000 [citation needed], but the size of the city do not justify these estimates.
The survivors and the clergy had taken refuge in the cathedral to pray with Archbishop Stephen Ag. Gedik Ahmed Pasha ordered them to renounce their Christian faith, but on receiving a refusal, and his men burst into the cathedral and captured them. So they were all killed, while the church as a sign of contempt, was reduced to a stable for horses.
Particularly cruel was the murder of the elderly Archbishop Stefano Agricultural, who urged the survivors to turn to God at death. It was in fact sword and hacked to pieces with scimitars, while his severed head was impaled on a pike and carried through the streets of the city.
The garrison commander was Francis Largo instead sawn alive.
The Head of Otranto that August 12 had been opposed to conversion to Islam was also the old tailor, Anthony Pezzullo, told The Primaldo.
On August 14 Gedik Ahmed Pasha made wire and made them drag the survivors on the nearby hill of Minerva, where he beheaded at least 800, forcing parents to attend executions. The first to be beheaded was Primaldo Antonio. During the massacre the chronicles tell that turkish, this Beersheba, was converted to see how the Otrantini died for their faith and suffered martyrdom he impaled by his own comrades in arms.
In aid of Otranto the King of Naples Ferdinand sent an army led by the Count of Conversano Giulio Antonio Acquaviva valiant commander, who, after thirteen months of siege, defeated the Turks but was the victim of an ambush against her by a warp last enemy squad. For the noble house ononorare Acquaviva, King Ferdinand I granted the privilege by royal diploma that all the descendants of Antonio Giulio Acquaviva would bear the coats of arms of the House of Aragon and would add that last name to the first descendant that proprio.Infatti frieze of the privilege was his son Andrea Matteo Acquaviva d'Aragona III.
A canonical process started in 1539 ended 14 December 1771, when Pope Clement XIV declared Blessed are the 800 killed on the hill of Minerva, and authorizing the cult-Since then, they are protectors of Otranto.
In view of possible canonization, at the request of the Archdiocese of Otranto, the process has been recently re-opened, fully confirmed the conclusions of the previous year. Pope Benedict XVI, July 6, 2007, issued a decree recognizing the martyrdom of Primaldo Antonio and its citizens were killed "in hatred of the faith."
Before Otranto became a Roman colony, there was already a complex road network that connects the town with the rest of Salento and Puglia in general. The Romans did nothing but reinforce it, bringing it into their routes. Otranto are still remnants of the Romans, two marble bases with Latin inscription, dating from the second century AD, which lead back to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius Lucius Aurelius Antoninus. 162 churches in the city and got to coin money and so it was that was opened a mint and remained active until the second century AD Gradually, the port of Otranto became increasingly important, even surpassing that of Brindisi. This reality did nothing but consolidation in the early Christian era.
[Edit] MedioevoL'importanza its port made her act as a bridge between East and West. Otranto was a center Byzantine and Gothic, then Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese. In its magnificent cathedral, built between 1080 and 1088, in 1095 was given the blessing to the twelve thousand crusaders who, under the command of Prince Bohemond I of Hauteville (1050-1111) set off to liberate and protect the Holy Sepulchre. Returning from the Holy Land, St. Francis of Assisi in Otranto had landed in 1219, received with great honors. In Otranto, 11 September 1227, had died of malaria, the Landgrave of Thuringia, husband of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
In 1480 it was conquered by the Turks (Mehmet II), which massacred the population during the Battle of Otranto, killing 800 people: it is the blessed Martyrs Otrantian. The Turks also destroyed the monastery of San Nicola di Casole (just south of Otranto). In this monastery, the Byzantine monks had been the largest library of the then West as well as having established the first college in the form of history, which housed children from all over Europe who came to study in Otranto. He was one of the monks (Pantaleon), the author of the monumental mosaic floor (the largest in Europe) contained in the cathedral. The product codes in this monastery are now kept in the best libraries in Europe, from Paris to London, from Berlin to Moscow.
The muraDopo the heavy destruction by the Turks, the city revived, seized by the desire to redeem himself. In 1539 there were 3200 people with 638 fires. In recent years, Otranto was contended by the Venetians and then again by the Anjou. Meanwhile, the Ottomans tried more attacks to the city in 1535 and 1537, but fortunately Otranto always managed to resist.
[Edit] Six hundred of the contemporary age from the late seventeenth century, Otranto experienced a sharp decline of its importance. The trade was subject to arrest and cultural events were virtually nil. Even in the construction sector there were big news. Many of the inhabitants of Otranto, by now exhausted and frightened by the continuous raids by sea, they decided to leave their homeland to move to safer places. So it was that the city lost its primary place it occupied in Salento. Otranto suffered more attacks by the Saracens in 1614 and 1644, but managed to escape unscathed. Many soils of the surrounding area were abandoned and this caused the formation of swamps, where the risk of contracting malaria became increasingly higher.
The eighteenth century was the century of a moderate recovery. The construction sector grew, albeit slightly. All of this is due to the presence of some families from other towns in the Terra d'Otranto Otranto moved their savings to invest in real estate.
In 1800, the countryside surrounding the lakes Alimini Otranto was bleak and deserted. There were only a few farms, some of which were inhabited only in certain seasons of the year. In this, the risk of cntracting diseases was very high during the summer, occurred when the draining of wetlands.
The first remediation project was drafted in 1868 by the Civil Engineers of Bari, who, after observing the entire surface of the lake and their measured depth, waterlogging recognized areas and suggested ways to remedy them. The marshes, then left the room for farmland. Was resumed farming.
During the Napoleonic period the town became the Duchy of the Kingdom of Naples and there was a sharp recovery thanks to the Minister Fouche. The fortifications were Otrantini subject to a total transformation since 1866 and many urban heritage of the city ended up in the hands of the state property. The moat of the castle was covered with earth and gravel and a part of the walls fell.
The twentieth century was a century of emigration to Germany and Switzerland in search of a job. In the late nineties, the city has lived through the mass landings on its shores of Albanian refugees fleeing from their homeland.
[Edit] SimboliDescrizione heraldic coat of arms:
"A field of blue, the silver cylindrical tower, clinging to a snake in black, going counter-clockwise side of the tower, it introduces the head during the open window in the field. The shield between two branches of oak and laurel crossed the base is stamped by the crown urbica the rank of city. The bottom of the coat of arms bears the motto of the city: "Civitas Hydrunti Faithful" "
(Towns-Italiani.it)
[Edit] Monuments and places of interest [edit] Religious Architecture [edit] Cathedral of the Annunciation Main articles: Pantaleone Cathedral of Otranto.
Cathedral
The mosaic floor of the Cathedral of Otranto cattedraleLa, built on the ruins of a Roman house, a village messapico and an early Christian temple was consecrated to the cult of August 1, 1088 during the papacy of Pope Urban II. Measuring 54 m long and 25 m wide. Built on 42 monolithic columns and all-over, with different quality granite and marble, style and production time of unknown provenance. Composed of 23 semi-forming Campatelli 45 of the central square and three divided into 5 rows by 9. Some of the columns are smooth and covered by other channels, through the differences in materials, thanks to a wise provision, creating the effect of homogeneity and not of confusion.
On the gabled facade stands a baroque portal in 1764 and rose to 16 renaissance rays with fine Gothic tracery of circular shape with barricades converging at the center, according to the Arab-Gothic art of the late fifteenth century. The nave has a coffered ceiling in gilded wood dating back to 1698 while the altar frontal, silver jewelry is the work of the Neapolitan 700.
Some wall frescoes inside the temple located in the crypt and show traces of Byzantine. The mosaic floor tiles in polychrome hard local limestone, was completed between 1163 and 1166 by a group of artists led a Basilian monaco named Pantaleone, probably of the Monastery of San Nicola di Casole, commissioned by Archbishop Jonathan . This true work of art, only in the south, resisted the Turkish invasion in 1480. Unfolds along the nave, the chancel, apse and the transept, and was depicted as the medieval imagination, richly expressive and with a sense of horror that is not affected by the irregularity of the vacant blocks or absence plasticity.
In the right aisle, seven large closets, the apse, are preserved the bones of the Blessed Martyrs of Otranto. They are the remains of eight hundred and more people slaughtered by the Turks on the Hill of Minerva, August 14, 1480, for refusing to renounce their Christian faith. Otranto, for this glorious event, is also called the 'City-martyr'. Some of these blessed relics are venerated in the Church of St. Catherine in Formiello of Naples. Along the back of the altar you can see the stone used by the Turks for martyrdom.
Also inside the cathedral, another area of great historical and artistic value dating back to the eleventh century crypt, the semicircular shape, with three projecting apses and five aisles. The beautiful capitals dating back to diverse influences, from Roman-Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian. Modern restorations were freed from the eighteenth-century baroque superstructures.
[Edit] Torre campanariaLa tower was built near the Cathedral in the twelfth century under the Normans. The monumental structure is a square with a robust softened up by four arched windows. The arches, frames, boards and shelves, decorating the outside, reminiscent of the same reasons, dear military architecture, visible on the walls and defensive towers of the city. The materials used in construction are the carparo and compact white limestone, materials typical of the Salento.
The current tower was most probably the base of a structure taller, with a warning and reporting functions. The elevated position, overlooking the city and the water in front, allowed to raise the alarm in case of danger. This functional purpose, common in the past, separate location justifies the holy building. Numerous bronze bells, which is attached to the tower were cast over the centuries by the will of various ecclesiastical clients.
Church of San Pietro
Church of San Pietro - Inside [edit] Church of San PietroLa Church of San Pietro is a valuable testimony of Byzantine rule in Terra d'Otranto. It is one of the medieval buildings of the South most representative of the traditional Byzantine and remains the highest and most vivid expression of Byzantine art in Puglia. The church probably represents the first basilica in the city, elected in 968 cities and reports directly to the patriarchal see of Constantinople. Its date has long been debated among scholars, but analysis of the structure, frescoes and inscriptions in Greek, seems attributable to the IX-X century.
The square, Greek cross, inscribed, is within the dictates of religious Byzantine. Inside, three small naves are surmounted by a dome, supported by four columns. In the three apses on the bottom there are the beautiful Byzantine-style frescoes dating from the tenth or eleventh century. The paintings are the oldest Washing of the Feet, which depicts Christ with a halo in the act of lifting the leg of St. Peter and the Last Supper. Be ascribed to the fourteenth century of the Nativity, the Resurrection and Pentecost and the last phase of the sixteenth century, the Presentation in the Temple and the saints.
[Edit] Church of Our Lady dell'AltomareLa Church was built in the seventeenth century and restored in 1744, as indicated by the epigraph on the sober side. Perched on a ridge of tuff rock that falls directly into the sea, is dedicated to the Holy Spirit but is known by the name of Madonna dell'Altomare. The interior has a single nave, the altar dedicated to the Virgin.
Peculiarities of the structure are the decorations that recall the maritime tradition: the floor, the mosaic is decorated with a star at the center of naval tradition, surrounded by Savoy or eight knots. All furnishings, including lighting, draw upon the themes of the sea: the seahorse, the dolphin, anchored to the shell, the latter bringing together a double symbolism: on one hand tied to the sea, bound for perfection all'iconologia other.
Church Lady dell'Altomare
Church of Santa Maria MartiriDi ancient origins is the devotion and attachment to Madonna dell'Altomare by Otranto. The first week of September, the population pays homage to the Virgin Mary with solemn celebrations, leading to the statue on a boat for the traditional procession at sea. This custom derives from an ancient legend associated with the sad story of the Turkish invasion in 1480. It is said that the statue was stolen and driven away by Ottoman troops. A young Otranto, enslaved by the Caliph, I beg him repeatedly to leave the sacred icon, renouncing any claims on their own liberation. The statue was then placed on a boat without a crew, and crossed the Strait of Otranto. Seeing her arrive, the fishermen tried in vain to reach it, but managed to recover only when, alone, entered the harbor between the celebrations of the city.
[Edit] Church of Santa Maria dei MartiriLa church, dedicated to San Francesco di Paola, situated on a hill overlooking the city, the Hill of Minerva. The building, with the convent, was built starting in 1614, instead of an existing structure built by Alfonso of Aragon, in memory of the terrible massacre that took place here. On 14 August 1480, three days after the occupation of the city, Acmet Pasha commander of the Turkish fleet, ordered that the inhabitants were carried out on the hill for men over the age of fifteen. Prisoners Acmet proposed to deny the Christian faith and life in return. Eight hundred men resisted being beheaded, one by one, on a large boulder. Tradition has it that the first to be executed, Antonio Primaldo, miraculously remained standing, headless, until the end of the gruesome execution.
he church is entered through a long stairway. Going on the right is a small chapel where he was the rock on which they were beheaded eight hundred Otranto, now placed in the cathedral on the left there is a column that reminds death, impalement, Berlabei of the executioner, who was killed after converting to Christianity.
Inside, among the altars and paintings, stands the work of Lavinio Zoppi, dated to the sixteenth century, that depicts the massacre of the Martyrs. Some insist on the walls marble plaque on which are engraved the names of some martyrs and the process of those events. Valuable is the finely carved in stone altar Lecce Baroque. On the ceiling you can admire a large painting depicting the storming of Otranto.
Edit] Church of Santa Maria del Passolo little church of Santa Maria del Step back to the sixteenth century. Located halfway between the city and the Hill of Minerva, was built to commemorate the passage in 1480 of eight hundred Otrantini that were taken by the Turks on the hill to be executed. Of an invoice, submit a single rectangular room with vaulted ceiling features an apse century bearing the image of the Virgin.
[Edit] Monastery of San Nicola di Casole Main article: Monastero di Casole.
The ancient monastery of San Nicola di Casole is a few miles south of Otranto is one of the most important places in Salento, in historical, artistic and cultural heritage. The town was founded in 1098 by Bohemond I of Antioch. Subsequently the settlement was given to a group led by the Basilian Joseph, who was first abbot of the Abbey future.
Active cultural center, preserved for centuries many volumes of Greek and Latin. At the time was one of the richest libraries in Europe. It was destroyed in 1480, following the devastation of the Turks. It only ruins remain today.
[Edit] Crypts and Rock Churches [edit] Crypt of San NicolaSituata in the Valley of Memories, a place of historical importance in the presence of an ancient rock village, the crypt of St. Nicholas is dug in the rocky walls of the valley and probably dates from the X- XII century. The crypt is formed by three naves divided by pillars, terminating in small semi-circular apses. You can still see traces of Byzantine frescoes and inscriptions in Greek language.
[Edit] Crypt of the Almighty PadreternoLa crypt dates from the tenth or eleventh century. Located near the Hill of Minerva, is entirely carved into the rock and is accessed by a staircase. The underground consists of a main room with an altar communicating with other groups supported by monolithic columns. Along the walls, fully painted, you deploy the stone seat.
Church of Madonna della Serra
Inside Church of the Madonna della Serra [edit] Catacombs of San GiovanniLe catacombs date back to early Christian St. John's. This is a complex hypogean, located on the hill of San Giovanni, which probably belonged to the early Christian or Jewish communities well represented in Otranto in the first centuries after Christ. The catacombs were used as a necropolis.
[Edit] Church of Our Lady of Serranella southern part of the territory of Otranto, on the border with the municipalities of Santa Cesarea Terme, Lecce and Uggiano Minervino of the Church, is the rural church of the Madonna della Serra, so call to be placed on top of hill (Monti Ferrari) that belongs to so-called green houses in Salento. Built in the late seventeenth century, the church is characterized by a barrel vault with lunettes and the presence of wall frescoes among which stands out as the wner. A few feet away you can see an ancient Roman road paving.
[Edit] Civil Architecture [edit] Palazzo LopezIl palace was built in the days of Spanish rule, from the noble family Lopez. At the oldest, consisting of the sixteenth century tower house, in the seventeenth century was built against a larger body of works to complete the mansion. Since 1992, at the behest of Archbishop Vincenzo Franco, the building houses the Diocesan Museum.
Inside you can admire works and architectural elements from the cathedral of Otranto and the parish churches belonging to the local diocese. The three-storey building housing sections devoted to sculpture, painting and furnishing and liturgical instruments. Among the most valuable works, a monumental baptismal font of the sixteenth century, attributed to the workshop of the famous sculptor Salento Gabriele Riccardi, decorated with relief panels depicting scenes from the Old and New Testament fragments of a mosaic floor, due to the IV- fifth century, found under the floor of the cathedral during the renovation, liturgical instruments.
