Otranto cathedral, a 1163 mosaic floor covering the whole nave.

Otranto cathedral, dedicated to the Annunciation, is at the top of the old town, a few minutes' walk from the castle and the harbour. From outside it is sober, in pale stone with a rose window. What you come to see is on the floor.

Pantaleone's mosaic

The cathedral was consecrated in 1088. Between 1163 and 1165, a workshop led by the monk Pantaleone covered the floor of the nave, the aisles, the presbytery and the apse with a mosaic of coloured stones. The axis is a great Tree of Life that runs along the nave from the entrance. Beside it are episodes from the Old Testament, animals from medieval bestiaries, scenes from chivalric romances and an Alexander the Great flying carried by griffins, with the inscription “ALEXANDER REX”.

Walk slowly from the door towards the altar, following the trunk of the tree: the mosaic reads like an open book. Part of the floor was covered for centuries by later works, and the nave was restored between 1986 and 1992. When it was lifted, remains of an early Christian church appeared, a late Roman mosaic of the 4th and 5th centuries and two Messapian tombs.

The Chapel of the Martyrs and the crypt

At the end of the right aisle, the Chapel of the Martyrs keeps in seven large display cases the bones of the people of Otranto whom the Ottomans killed on 14 August 1480, when they took the city. Behind the altar is the stone on which, according to tradition, they were executed. It is impressive, and with small children it is best to warn them before going in.

Beneath the presbytery is the crypt: 48 bays supported by more than seventy columns and pillars, brought from older buildings. In the 1950s its original stairs were reopened. Above, in the nave, fourteen granite columns each have a different capital.

Hours and the visit

The cathedral is open from 8:30 to 12:00 and from 15:30 to 18:30, according to the archdiocese's website. It is a church in use: it cannot be visited during Mass and you should enter with shoulders and knees covered. The website does not publish an admission fee.

Otranto's old town is pedestrianised; park outside the walls, by the harbour or in the car parks at the entrance to the town, and walk up.