Salento in October - Otranto

On Tuesday morning we drive to Otranto, stopping at the official weekly market in Casarano on the way. This is useful since Andrea finds socks and pyjamas, we get several useful and free long-lasting shopping bags from Mondo Convenienza and stock up on fruit and veg. We are also lucky because our accommodation in Otranto is ready early and by one o’clock we have done some food shopping and are sitting down to a simple but nourishing pastaciutta.

After we have got organized, we head out to explore Otranto. Our apartment is in the Punta Rosa area, a quiet residential area which is almost deserted this time of the year but there’s a good view of the sea and two small beaches and it’s spotlessly clean. The two owners are also very friendly and welcoming. 

We walk round following the slight promontory. This side it’s quite windy but as soon as we go round the ‘corner’ where it’s sheltered from the wind and in the sun the temperature is very different. I remove several layers, and we stop to watch a few people fishing from precarious ledges on the cliffs and some people in the sea on the beach beyond. It’s a relaxing walk to the centre of Otranto which we visited over twenty years ago and remember a little, especially the cathedral with the fantastic mosaic.

But  first we follow the seafront right round as far as we can go, deviating just a little to get outside the walls and investigate the Pescheria near the port (closed until the following morning). There’s also a monument to remember the lives of migrants lost at sea, the wreck of the Kater Rades which sank on Good Friday in 1997.

From there we walk around the castle and across the bridge into the centre. We wander a few narrow streets and have a quick look at the cathedral promising to return, on one of the rainy days forecast, to study the mosaic, and the frescoes and everything else, better. Of Otranto I also remembered hippy type shops full of fascinating wares, mostly replaced by tourist souvenirs or one or two more expensive boutiques. There are many many bars and restaurants and quite a few people, both near the sea and walking around the centre. Nevertheless, the centre of Otranto is pretty and the views from the Punta Rosa direction looking towards the town are fine. It’s eay to understand why it’s such a popular destination.

Rain is forecast for Thursday so it's no surprise to find a wet start to the day. We are prepared and set off early, by car, to the few spaces of free parking hidden by the Oleander bushes on the Otranto side of the Via Orte pay parking.

It's a short walk to the cathedral which is empty except for a boy sitting in one of the pews. We explore the crypt first. There's an excellent virtual guide and visit online which you can find here. We use it to find out more. The frescoes, the fact that the capitelli of the columns are all different there's a Persian one, a Byzantine one,......

When we come up into the main church, some tour groups and guides have arrived. They are quite noisy after the peace down in the crypt, their voices echoing. Anyway, we read the explanations of the various parts of the mosaic which can be seen, most of it, luckily, although not always easily: the months, the tower of Babel, Noah and his ark, king Alexander. It's fascinating.

The bones of the 800 martyrs of Otranto are in a side chapel. We also look at the frescoes there as well. We stay for over two hours and feel we've done it justice.

On the same website there's also the Byzantine church of San Pietro which can be seen live too in the centre of Otranto. The frescoes are in good condition although the church is quite small. Our last stop is to get some fish from Pescheria Martinelli. A good selection, fresh and reasonable prices although the Pescheria of Torre san Giovanni is probably unbeatable. We get a ricciola for lunch and a tombarello for the following day and go back to cook.

The forecast for the afternoon was torrential rain and strong winds and orange alert so we plan to rest, something we have done very little of, in the afternoon. Instead, it drizzles a bit but nothing spectacular so we go out, supposedly to go to Martinucci for an espressino and pasticciotto. We wander the walk along the moat and absolutely every narrow alleyway up and down and round Otranto. Once no stone has been left unobserved, we walk back along the sea front and have our espressino and pasticiotto (ricotta and cioccolate – very good) at Martinucci and head back to base before the rain and wind start.