| The Cathedral in Otranto is the city's most fascinating monument. Here lie the bones of the Eight hundred martyrs who were slain in 1480 by Turkish invaders for refusing to abjure the Christian faith. The church was built by the Normans at the end of the 11th century on the site of an older church (brought to light by archaeological excavations). In Romanesque style, it is one of the biggest churches in Puglia. Its simple medieval façade is embellished with a Renaissance rose window and by an elaborate baroque door, built in 1764. Inside the space is divided up by two rows of monolithic columns each one differing from the next in terms of the quality of the marble, perhaps taken from old monuments in the area. However, Otranto cathedral is most famous for its magnificent mosaic floor, made between 1163 and 1166 by a group of artisans led by a monk of the name Pantaleone, commissioned by the archbishop Gionata. The mosaic contains a vast array of figures from the medieval imagination. Imaginary animals, Biblical scenes like the building of the Ark, mythical figures or figures that became legendary like King Arthur and Alexander the Great, the portrayal of the twelve months of the year through the different tasks that are carried out or the signs of the zodiac, all of these make up a complex human story with continual allegorical references. Apart from the mosaic the cathedral continues to delight visitors thanks to the beautiful ceiling with golden wooden box work carried out at the end of the 17th century and for the silver frontal on the main altar, the work of 18th century Neapolitan artists. At the end of the right nave, a small chapel contains seven large casements where the bones and skulls of the eight hundred martyrs can be found, every year thousands of pilgrims come to see them. Beneath the cathedral is the crypt, this also dates back to the 11th century. The underground room has many columns, each of them different in terms of diameter and the quality of the marble, they divide the space up into 48 bays each surmounted by a cross vault.
The cathedral is part of the old town of Otranto, Cultural Heritage by UNESCO |