otranto
 
OTRANTO , a minuscule town nestling around its harbour, makes an ideal base for exploring this part of the Adriatic. It's only an hour by train from Lecce (change at Maglie) and still very much a quiet Puglian backwater with a beach that was one of the ten cleanest in Italy in 2000 - though summer ferry services to Albania and a Club Med affair nearby attract visitors in the height of summer. Its history, however, is decidedly grim. One of the last Byzantine towns to fall to the Normans, in 1070, Otranto remained a thriving port for Crusaders, pilgrims and traders. But in 1480 a Turkish fleet laid siege to the town, which held out for fifteen days before capitulating. It's said that as a punishment the archbishop, upon capture, suffered the indignity of being sawn in half, a popular Turkish spectacle. Nearly 12,000 people lost their lives and the 800 survivors, refusing to convert, were taken up a nearby hill and beheaded. Otranto never really recovered, though the town does feature one glorious survivor of the Turkish attack inside its cathedral.

This, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata (daily 8.30am-noon & 4-7pm), down a small alleyway just to the left of the castle, is a Romanesque structure with a rose window added in the fifteenth century and a marble-columned nave adorned by an extraordinary mosaic floor , a multicoloured tapestry in stone. Composed in three distinct but interconnecting parts, the mosaic stretches the length of the nave, centring on its main theme of the "Tree of Life", adorned with zodiacal signs and scenes from the medieval calendar and flanked by two smaller trees in the aisles depicting biblical scenes. Historical and animal figures are shown as a mix of myth and reality - Alexander the Great, King Arthur, the Queen of Sheba, crabs, fish, serpents and mermaids. The work of a twelfth-century monk, for all its rough simplicity the mosaic provides a captivating picture, empowered by a delightful child-like innocence.

Not far from the cathedral, the town's Aragonese Castello (daily 10am-noon & 6-10pm; free) juts out into the bay, defending the harbour. Recently restored, its walls incorporate fragments of Roman and medieval inscriptions, while Charles V's coat-of-arms looms from its portal. Outside on a dusty square, old men still play a highly animated form of boules , impervious to passers-by. Out on the southern edge of town is the hill, covered with cypress trees, where the survivors of the Turkish siege were beheaded. At the top of the hill, the sixteenth-century Chiesa di San Francesco di Paola holds inscriptions of the names of the victims, together with a vivid description of the terrible events of July 1480.

There's also a variety of musical and theatrical events in Otranto throughout summer, usually centred around the castle, and an annual festival commemorating the "800 Martyrs" on August 13-15. Details and other information are available from the tourist office , Via Pantaleone 12 in the new town (daily: July & Aug 8.30am-1pm & 3.30-9.30pm; Sept-June 8am-2pm; tel 0836.801.436). If you want to stay in Otranto, your best bet is the light, modern Bellavista , Via Vittorio Emanuele 4 (tel 0836.801.435; L120,000-150,000/¬61.98-77.47), right in the centre of things near the beach, just outside the old town; the nearest campsite , Camping Hydrusa , is on Via del Porto (tel 0836.801.255; May-Sept), signposted from the port. There are some excellent restaurants in town, such as Da Sergio on Corso Garibaldi (closed Sun in winter), and La Duchesca at Piazza Castello 17 (closed Mon in winter), while the air-conditioned self-service restaurant Boomerang , at 13/14 Via Vittorio Emanuele II, by the park next to the beach, services delicious well-priced fresh antipasti, pasta and simple meals. Alternatively, in nearby Frassanito, Da Umberto , along the road to San Cataldo (closed Sun in winter), does great fish dishes.

If you're heading to Albania , Icaria Line (tel 0836.801.005) operates a ferry service there. One-way, low-season tickets cost L40,000/¬20.66 per person, plus L5000/¬2.58 embarkation tax; L45,000/¬23.24 per car.