Hydruntum
| Otranto | ||
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| Comune | ||
| Comune di Otranto | ||
Otranto seen from the castle
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 Otranto
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| Coordinates: 40°09′N 18°29′E / 40.150°N 18.483°E | ||
| Country | Italy | |
| Region |
 Apulia
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| Province / Metropolitan city | Lecce (LE) | |
| Frazioni | Porto Badisco, Conca Spellucchia | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Luciano Cariddi | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 76 km2 (29 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) | |
| Population (December 2013) | ||
| • Total | 5,670 | |
| • Density | 75/km2 (190/sq mi) | |
| Demonym(s) | Idruntini or Otrantini | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 73028 | |
| Dialing code | 0836 | |
| Patron saint | Blessed Otrantine Martyrs | |
| Saint day | August 14 | |
| Website | Official website | |
Otranto (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɔːtranto]; Latin: Hydruntum) is a town and comune in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.
It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. The harbour is small and has little trade.
The lighthouse Faro della Palascìa, at approximately 5 kilometres (3 miles) southeast of Otranto, marks the most easterly point of the Italian mainland.
About 50 kilometres (31 mi) south lies the promontory of Santa Maria di Leuca (so called since ancient times from its white cliffs, leukos being Greek for white), the southeastern extremity of Italy, the ancient Promontorium lapygium or Sallentinum. The district between this promontory and Otranto is thickly populated and very fertile.
Otranto occupies the site of the ancient Hydrus (in Greek: Ὑδροῦς) or Hydruntum (in Latin), also known as Hydrunton, Hydronton, or Hydruntu. Otranto was a town of Greek origin, which, in the wars of Pyrrhus and of Hannibal sided against Rome.
In Roman times it was a city. As it is the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, it was perhaps more important than Brundisium (present Brindisi), under the Roman emperors as a point of embarkation for the East, as the distance to Apollonia was less than from Brundisium.
In the 8th century, it was for some time in the possession of duke Arechis II of Benevento. It remained in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it was among the last cities of Apulia to surrender to the Norman Robert Guiscard in 1068, and then became part of the Principality of Taranto. In the Middle Ages the Jews had a school there.
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Wikipedia