Otranto

Seaport in Apulia, Italy, on the Strait of Otranto, 35 km/22 mi southeast of Lecce; population (2001) 5,300. It has Greek and Roman remains, a ruined castle (the inspiration for Horace Walpole's novel The Castle of Otranto 1764), and a cathedral begun in 1080. The port is linked by ferry with the island of Corfu.

In later Roman times the town succeeded Brundisium (modern Brindisi) as the chief Italian port for Greece, and retained its importance until its sack by the Turks in 1480.