Otranto sits at the easternmost point of the Italian peninsula, facing Albania across the Strait (only 72km). In 1480, the Ottoman Empire invaded and captured Otranto. 800 male citizens who refused to convert to Islam were beheaded on the Colle della Minerva. Their skulls and bones are now displayed in glass cases behind the altar of the Cathedral — a macabre reliquary wall of 800 skulls that is one of the most extraordinary (and unsettling) sights in southern Italy. The cathedral floor (1163-1165) is covered in the most bizarre mosaic in Italy: the Tree of Life, a vast work by the monk Pantaleone depicting Alexander the Great, King Arthur, the Tower of Babel, the Zodiac, biblical scenes, and fantastical beasts — all in a 12th-century visual encyclopedia that scholars are still decoding. Puglia → · Salento →
Plan my Salento trip →Cathedral (11th century): The Tree of Life mosaic (entire nave floor — 12th century, by the monk Pantaleone), the 800 martyrs' skulls and bones (behind the altar in glass cases — the Chapel of the Martyrs), and a 5th-century early-Christian crypt with frescoed columns. Free entry. Castello Aragonese (15th century): Built after the Ottoman siege — massive walls, moat, bastions. Now hosts exhibitions and summer events. €5. The old town: A compact medieval core within the walls — the Porta Alfonsina gate, Via del Ponte (the main street, now bar-and-gelato central), and the cliff-edge viewpoints over the Adriatic. Beaches: The Baia dei Turchi (5km north — named for the Ottoman landing beach, now one of Salento's most beautiful sandy coves) and the coast south toward Santa Cesarea Terme (rocky, clear, dramatic).
Getting there: car from Lecce (45min), Brindisi airport (1.5h). FSE bus from Lecce (1h). Stay: €60-130/night in summer (book early July-August). Eat: Peccato di Vino (€25-40 — Salento cuisine, seafood), L'Altro Baffo (€30-45). Combine with: Lecce (45min — baroque capital), Castro (25min — cliff grotto), Gallipoli (1h — Ionian coast), Santa Cesarea Terme (20min — thermal cliff resort).