Strait of Otranto

The Strait of Otranto (Albanian: Kanali i Otrantos; Italian: Canale d'Otranto) connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. Its width at Punta Palascìa, east of Salento is less than 72 kilometres (45 mi). The strait is named after the Italian city of Otranto.

Since ancient times the Strait of Otranto was of vital strategic importance. The Romans used it to transport their troops eastwards. The legions marched up to Brundisium (now Brindisi), had only a one-day voyage to modern Albania territory and then could move eastwards following Via Egnatia.

During World War I, the strait was of strategic significance. The Allied navies of Italy, France, and Great Britain, by blockading the strait, mostly with light naval forces and lightly armed fishermen, hindered the cautious Austro-Hungarian Navy from freely entering the Mediterranean Sea, and effectively kept them out of the naval theatre of war.

However, the barrage was notoriously ineffective against the German U-boats operating out of the Adriatic, which were to plague the Allied powers for most of the war throughout the Mediterranean.

In 1992, Albania and Italy signed a treaty that delimited the continental shelf boundary between the two countries in the strait.

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