Trips

Mon., 10/4 - Otranto, Italy

We docked in Otranto, Italy at noon and after lunch a 10-minute bus ride took us to the old town of Otranto for a walking tour. The main sights are the seaport, the castle, and the cathedral. The port is on the eastern-most part of Italy, at the point where the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Seas meet. It was of course desired by all empires who sailed these waters. The town was conquered by the usual cast of characters, but in 1480 the Turkish fleet landed and tried to convert the people to Islam. Some fled but 800 young boys and men refused to convert and were beheaded. Other countries came to the rescue and drove the Turks out. The cathedral has a chapel that displays the skulls and skeletons of the 800 who were killed.

The pilot arrives
Otranto's waterfront	Aragonese Castle The castle was built around 1485 by Charles V. It is now used for various exhibitions.
Aragonese Castle	Aragonese Castle
Yacht baasin	Along the sea wall - beautiful water
Inviting restaurant	Clever
Intricate facade	Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Annunciation
Rose window in the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Annunciation	Ceiling in the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Annunciation
The cathedral was converted over the centuries but retains a wonderful mosaic floor made from 600,000 small tiles. The floor illustrates the “tree of life” and many Biblical stories that help to educate the illiterate parishioners - Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, etc.
Skulls and skeletons of the 800 who beheaded by the Turks	Nice old organ
After a treat of two scoops of gelato (at OAT’s expense), our bus drove us out of town to the Costantine Foundation established to help marginalized women by teaching and providing them with work weaving and making intricate fabrics. We watched two women weaving on old wooden looms and one finishing a piece with small embroidery. The foundation receives no funding but maintains the farm and helps women in need (from abuse, refugees, etc.) by selling the fabrics to names like Gucci and Angelina Jolie who wore a dress made from their textiles to a recent Academy Awards Ceremony.
Founders Giulia Starace and Lucia de Viti de Marco	Weaver at work
Unfinished work on a loom	Colorful thread spools
Woven Last Supper	Before returning to the port, we got off the bus to look at and take pictures of the monument to the 81 Albanian refugees who drowned when, in 1997, an Italian navy ship purposely collided with their ship, the Kater I Rades, and sank it just offshore. The slabs of glass on the resurrected rusty boat represent the broken lives of those who drowned. The monument is called "The Landing, for Migrant Humanity."
The Landing, for Migrant Humanity	The Landing, for Migrant Humanity
The Landing, for Migrant Humanity	Lots of boats!

As it turned out, tonight was our last night of smooth sailing as the Bora winds to the north turned the Adriatic into a very angry sea.

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