7b. Otranto

Otranto: Wed Sept 7 – Fri Sept 9

Thursday 8^th September

It was a joy to rise early this morning and get out to walk Otranto old town without all the tourists. It’s really the best time of day to take in the beauty and grandeur of this fortified city, to see the full scale of the impressive 11th century castle, the thick perimeter walls and the enormous moat. I headed out along the bastion wall, on to the Lungomare and then along the beach from before winding back to walk through the enormous moat and back up into the old town.

The initial plan for the day had been to take an afternoon boat cruise with swimming but the weather forecast was not favourable and this unfortunately had to be cancelled. The cyclists still had their morning ride and then the afternoon was left as free time.

My morning was filled in by a visit, with one of the other non-cycling ladies, to the Castle of Otranto. It’s quite an impressive structure and amazing to think you’re walking through so much history; the Castle dates back to 11-12th Century. We had noticed the staff setting up for a wedding event within the Castle and, on leaving, we were lucky enough to spy the bride arriving.

I then went on to check out the Cathedral and this was well worth the visit. The Cathedral dates back to 1068 and was built on the sight of an ancient Roman residence and early temple. The mosaic floor was created over a period from 1163 to 1170 and was just amazing. In 1480 Otranto was stormed by the Ottomans and 800 people were killed. The Cathedral building was then turned into a mosque and the many 13th Century frescoes were destroyed, except for those depicting the Madonna as the Ottomans worshipped her as well. The relics of the massacred 800 can be found in cabinets at the rear of the chapel on the right hand aisle of the Cathedral. Otranto was eventually retaken in 1481 by a force under Alfonso of Aragon and returned to being a Christian church.

There was still a bit of time until the cyclists returned and so I wandered back down to the sea front to have a soft drink before heading back to the hotel. The crowds were building and many were heading down to the beach.

Mark returned tired and parched and so we headed out to have lunch at the nearby So Fish cafe. We were soon joined by a few others of the group and enjoyed a leisurely hour chatting over lunch. We had planned to go to the beach but didn’t make it so just got to aperitivo hour and dinner.

Otranto old town is beautiful and we loved our short time here. I definitely recommend a visit if you’re ever in the region. Our group heads to Lecce tomorrow for the final day of the cycling tour.