Otranto's walls

The great defensive system of the Otranto's walls has been reshuffled many times in the past centuries. A first plant was supposed to be already present in the Messapic age and Roman times. The current route follows part of the city walls built during the Byzantine era, subsequently rearranged first by Roberto il Guiscardo in 1081, and later by Federico II in 1228. The continuous threats from the sea and its importance as East Gate of the peninsula, also led the Angevins and later the Spanish viceroys, to make the walls of the castle and an efficient model of military architecture. This was made possible through the intervention of the best military engineers and architects of the time, including Ciro Ciri and Francesco di Giorgio Martini.