Serpe's tower

Serpe's tower (or Idro's) is located near Otranto. It is believed that its construction dates back to the Roman period and that it had the function of lighthouse; it was later restored following an expansion strategy ordered by Frederick II. The name is linked to an ancient legend that tells of a snake which climbed the cliff every night to drink some of the oil that kept the lighthouse's lantern alight. Another legend says that a few years before the capture of Otranto in 1480, the Saracens were headed towards the town to ransack it, but on that occasion the snake, who had drunk the oil, had put out the light. The pirates, without any landmarks, went past it and attacked the nearby Brindisi.