Otranto Cathedral is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. The Norman bishop William founded it in 1068 on the remains of a Messapian village, a Roman house and an early Christian church. It was consecrated on August 1, 1088 under Pope Urban II. The style combines Byzantine, early Christian and Romanesque elements. The nave has three aisles and rests on 42 monolithic granite and marble columns.
A twelfth-century mosaic covers the nave, sanctuary and apse. The first Latin archbishop, Gionata, commissioned it, and a team led by the Basilian monk Pantaleon made it in 1163 to 1165. Its scenes include Alexander's flight.
In 1480 refugees sheltering in the cathedral were killed when Ottoman forces broke in, and the church was turned into a mosque. Alfonso V of Aragon retook the town in 1481, and the cathedral was rebuilt to house the relics of the Martyrs of Otranto.
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