I visited this tWHS in June 2014 and November 2019. After having visited the worthwhile locations near Bari in June 2014, I wasn't convinced that much. The Cathedral in Modena, just to mention a similar site in Italy that was already on the list, already covered Romanesque quite well even though the Cathedral in Bitonto is quite remarkable for its age. So as a half day trip from Lecce, in November 2019 I decided to visit the last remaining location of Otranto to visit its Romanesque cathedral.

Otranto itself is a pretty town with river streams and countryside on one side and a fortified waterfront on the other. The cathedral exterior is pretty normal and I was also happy that there was no entrance fee to visit inside. Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why such a beauty is not that famous yet. The whole cathedral floor is completely covered with beautiful 12th century mosaics! The mosaics are in very good condition considering that the cathedral is pretty much still in use and there's no protection for the mosaic floor like there is in Aquileia for example.

The floor mosaics include episodes from the Old Testament such as the story of Adam and Eve, zodiac images, the tree of life, the tortures of hell, the tower of Babel and last but certainly not least Alexander's flight to the heaven carried by two griffins with the title 'Alexander Rex' (photo). According to a medieval legend, Alexander, wishing to see the whole world, first descended into the depths of the ocean in a sort of diving bell, then wanting to see the view from above, he harnessed two griffins with a seat for him between them and enticed them to keep flying higher by placing meat on two skewers which he held above their heads. The mosaics in Otranto's cathedral are indeed very fine. Alone, they were worth the visit from Lecce, and I think they deserve to be included in the WH list at least as much as Aquileia's mosaics.