Otranto is a town located on the Apulian coast – at Punta Palascia, the most extreme point of Salento and the easternmost point of Italy, between the Ionian and Adriatic Seas – in the province of Lecce, and is a renowned tourist centre. Its ancient and splendid village has been recognized the status of Unesco Cultural Heritage.

The historic center of Otranto, crossed by the Idro, retains all its ancient charm, being in effect a fortified city, closed by the defensive walls that open into the Porta Alfonsina. In the heart of Otranto there are many sacred buildings of great importance, such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata, dating back to the Norman period, which stands on the remains of a Messapian village and on those of a Roman residence, where the relics of the Holy Martyrs of Otranto are kept: 800 prisoners who, in 1480, were beheaded by the Turks of Muhammad II for not wanting to abjure the Christian faith.