Santa Annunziata (Otranto)

Cathedral Santa Annunziata ; Duomo di Otranto ; Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata
Denomination :	Roman Catholic
Rank:	Basilica minor
Address:	1, Piazza Basilica ; 73028 Otranto (LE) Italy

40.14988 18.48305Coordinates: 40 ° 8 ′ 59.6 ″ N , 18 ° 28 ′ 59 ″ E

The Cathedral of Santa Annunziata (Italian: Duomo di Otranto / Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata) is a church building in Otranto (Italy) from the 12th century. The minor basilica is the seat of the Archdiocese of Otranto .

The cathedral is one of the sights of the place. In October 1980 the cathedral was officially visited by Pope John Paul II .

Building

The church building was built in 1068 or 1080-1088 or 1163. The area is 54 meters × 25 meters. The foundation consists of 42 columns above a ruin of a Messapier building and an early Christian sacred building.

mosaic

Floor mosaic (general view) with explanations in Italian

A large mosaic (10 million Tessera ) from the 12th century with an area of 57 × 28 m = 1596 m² is located across the entire surface of the building. The artist was a monk named Pantaleon from the monastery of San Nicola di Casole . In his home monastery of San Nicola di Casole, he was considered to be someone who understood how to interpret Greek and Nordic myths and how to give artistic form to their mysterious relationships with Christian stories and parables. In total, over 700 individual "stories" are interwoven in this mosaic. Among them is a depiction of King Arthur , a legendary figure from the late 9th century who was literary in Britain and was handed down in court literature of the 12th century.

Relics of the 800 martyrs of Otranto

The relics of the 800 martyrs of Otranto († August 11, 1480), who were canonized in 2013, are kept in the cathedral . Other relics of these martyrs can be found in Naples and Venice. When the Turks conquered Otranto in 1480, they gave the residents the choice of either renouncing their Christian faith or dying. 800 male residents preferred death by beheading.