On to Otranto

   The next day we left Ostuni for the small village of Melpignano.  From here we would ride to the port city of Otranto.  Having gotten a reply from my doctor, I was ready to ride.  I would have to restrict how many kilometers I rode.  So, I would ride to Otranto and stop for the day while the rest of the group would ride on to our next masseria, a few kilometers outside Otranto.



Spiaggia is Italian for beach.  A few of my group actually went swimming
and said the water was as warm as bath water.

At first I thought this was a variety of iris I had not seen before.
It was not an iris, but I thought it pretty.



   The Madonna Above the Sea chapel is a small chapel near the port.
 It has sea-themed décor.

I had to do a zoom with my camera to get this bell tower.
 

The older part of Otranto

      In the afternoon we were taken to our new masseria, our home for the next two nights. We would stay at Maseria Montelauro, which our guide, Fabio, says is his favorite masseria.  He thinks it is more authentic.  I think he likes it because of the animals!  They have a donkey, two miniature ponies, and a variety of elderly dogs.  The owners have a kind of animal sanctuary going on.

I can't remember his name!  He was a friendly donkey and came when you called him.

Pallanino, little ball, was the larger of the miniature ponies.  The other, Rocco, was quite small.
He didn't photograph well, so I can't include him here.

Jasmine

This flower was so pretty in the sunset.



The door to my room.



Because the walls of our rooms were so think, the only way we could get internet access was to step
 outside on the patio.  Not a bad way to check on home. It was here that I learned my sister-in-law,
Linda Williams, had succumbed to lung cancer.  While I was in luxurious surroundings, I was still deep in
the countryside.  The masseria staff was very good about getting me on the phone with Delta Airlines,
however, I would not get back in time for her funeral.

 

Storia - Italian for History

     Otranto now has a population of about 6,000 permanent residents.  For over 1,000 years it was the main port for ships heading towards the Orient.  Orient meaning the Middle East. 
     In 1480, Otranto was sacked by the Turks who invaded the city.  In a badly planned attempt to convert the citizens to Islam, 800 faithful Christians refused, and were beheaded!  Eventually the Turks were defeated. (Although, I bet a few stayed behind, rather than face their own decapitation upon returning home!)

     That evening we were shuttled back to Otranto for dinner on our own and to explore as we wished.  I spent much of the time wandering alone, as I like to photograph architecture.

      The first place I went to was the Romanesque cathedral that the Normans (French) had built in the 1100s.  A huge mosaic, one of the largest in the world, covers its floor.  It was created by a young monk named Pantaleone.  He  combined a variety of religions beliefs along with classic Greek and Roman figures, and plain superstition.

Here we have a griffin.

 

The evening light made it dark for photography, but I made the attempt anyway.  It was a very peaceful chapel.

The ceiling

It is amazing that the chapel survived.  The Turks used is a stable for their horses.

One of the side chapels is called the Cappella Mortiri, The Chapel of the Dead. The chapel contains the stone on which the 800 martyrs were beheaded.  The skulls and bones are also located in the chapel arranged in neat patterns.  Some people might find this ghoulish, but I do not.  I understand the concept of an ossuary, and it is a sacred place.  The little chapel was quite peaceful.  I took a picture of it from a distance to preserve the sanctity.

 


Charles V of Spain also built a castle here.

Archeologists are still working on the city to find older finds.  Wandering around I found some fascinating sites.

Reminds me of Dracula!

 



Of course, with tourists in abundance, you need some souvenir shops! I also wanted some real Italian pizza, which I had not had so far.  I found a pizzeria and ordered a pizza.  I will describe that experience in the post How We Ate.  Otranto was a wonderful jewel to explore in an evening.

Tambourines for dancing the Tarentella - the dance
that makes you sweat if you get bit by a tarantula - which are still around.
 The old cure if one was bitten was to dance wildly around hoping to sweat the
venom out.  For those of us who took piano lessons, a simplified tarantella was in
several piano theory books, and always my favorite to practice!