Cultour's Recommendation:

Although there is a wealth of things to see in Otranto's historical centre, time and weather permitting, it is worth getting out of town for a walk around the surrounding area.

Otranto's bauxite lake is a marvellous marriage of industrial archeology and natural wonder, while further south at the most Easterly point on the Italian mainland, the recently restored lighthouse with its research centre and museum is well worth a visit.

Otranto

The first light of dawn at mainland Italy's most easterly point has illuminated the ancient town of Otranto and its spectacular surrounding land and seascape for millennia... From some of Europe's most important prehistoric cave paintings preserved in the nearby Grotte dei Cervi at Porto Badisco to the stunning cathedral's 12th century floor mosaic, under which preexistent Roman mosaics were recently revealed, this romantic and fantastic setting of Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto, inspiration of the entire genre of Gothic literature, has history, charm, magic and mystique far out of proportion to the town's tiny geographic dimensions

Porta Alfonsa, Otranto	Fishing boats in Port, Otranto	Fishing boats in port, Otranto	Otranto harbour and beach
Façade, Otranto Cathedral	View of Saint Peter's Basilica	Laneway in the old town	Porta Alfonsa and waterfront

Times of the year recommended for a visit to Otranto:

The dawn of a fine day... The lighthouse at Otranto and the coast between it and the town's port offer one of the best vantage points to greet the new day at Italy's most easterly point.
New Year's Eve... Otranto hosts a popular concert each New Year's Eve which lasts right through the night until the Alba dei Popoli.
Festival of the Holy Martyrs (13-14 August) ... this heartfelt series of religious events commemorates the 'Martyrs of Otranto', an estimated 800 local residents who were massacred on 14 August 1480 during an invasion by Turkish troups under the command of Gedik Ahmed Pasha.
Any weekend in Spring or Autumn when it's possible to lap up the town's sun drenched angles, meadering laneways and seaside boardwalk, white washed buildings tinged with turquiose Adriatic reflections in the off-season peace, tranquility and calm.

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