Making the most of Otranto
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
Otranto is a tender port.
Otranto's harbour accommodates yachts, local fishing craft and freighters carrying cement products across the Adriatic. Coastguard and customs vessels are also based here while the Italian state monitors the waters between Puglia, ‘the heel of Italy’, Albania and Corfu. Alongside the port, the Stazione Marittima building supplies services for its users.
The port is approximately 1.5 km from Otranto city centre.
Save a printable map to use ashore.
Known as The Gateway to the East, Otranto is a tourist town in Apulia's Province of Lecce. It occupies the easternmost tip of the Salento Peninsula, Italy's ‘heel’, where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas connect in the heart of the Mediterranean. Otranto is a centre of art, while neighbouring Lecce is called the Florence of the south.
Otranto is an Apulian town on the Strait of Otranto in extreme S Italy, with a 1991 pop. of 5,114. The strait joins the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Now a small fishing port and coastal resort, Otranto began as a Greek settlement and became an important Roman port. It was later governed by the Byzantines and Normans and never recovered after the Turks devastated it in 1480. Highlights include an 11th-century cathedral, restored in the 17th–18th cent. and considered Puglia's largest church. Its fine 12th cent. mosaic floor was created by a monk, and it holds the remains of the 800 martyrs killed by the Turks. There are also ruins of an imposing 15th cent. Aragonese castle…
The coastal road winding towards Castro is among the region's most alluring visitor routes. Its rises and falls sometimes reach eighty metres above the sea, while bends that seem designed by nature hold the attention of a traveller searching for new emotions.
Getting around
Buses and trains connect Otranto with Lecce and other towns.
Nearby places
The Uragano Villages form Salentine Greece, a geographical air-pocket that reflects Greek colonisation and the gradual Hellenisation of Southern Italy. It now covers Calimera, Castrignano dei Greci, Corigliano d'Otranto, Martano, Martignano, Melpignano, Soleto, Sternatia and Zollino in eastern Salento. Traces of Greek-Byzantine civilisation remain, and Griko—an idiom or dialect surprisingly close to modern Greek—still survives. This Greek enclave is readily reached by car from Lecce, Otranto, Gallipoli and Santa Maria di Leuca.
Food and shopping
Outdoor cafés and shops overlooking the water fill the area.
Money
The currency is the euro.
Staying connected
The local Language is Italian.
Opening Hours and
Opening Hours and Holidays: Most Italian shops and businesses open Monday to Saturday from around 8am to 1pm and then about 4pm to 7pm. Many close on Saturday afternoons and Monday mornings, and southern days may begin and finish an hour later. In northern Italy, some businesses follow a 9am-5pm day for international dealings. Traditionally, everything except restaurants and bars closes on Sunday, although most towns have a morning pasticceria, and Sunday trading is increasingly common in large cities and tourist areas.