Otranto - Toponymy

Many of the streets in the historic center are named after figures who shaped the history of our city

Discover with us who they were and their stories!

PUGLIA CAPITALE SOCIALE 3.0

This initiative was carried out by PRO LOCO OTRANTO in partnership with LUCE A EST COOPERATIVA SOCIALE ETS. It was funded by the PUGLIA REGION through the “Puglia Capitale Sociale 3.0” call and is part of the project OTRANTO – Revitalization of Local Resources.

The soul of a town is woven from the fragments of those who lived there and those who loved it, like a mosaic of memories that continues to breathe through time.

THE PROJECT

Every street bears a name, and behind every name there is a story. As we walk through the city’s streets, we often encounter—without even realizing it—figures who helped write pages of history, culture, and memory. This list aims to guide you in discovering those lives, giving new meaning to the names we pass by every day.

Street List

Vico Lopez

Palazzo Lopez, adjacent to Via Lopez, overlooks Piazza Basilica and was the residence of the noble Spanish family from the 16th to the 17th century. The street probably took its name from Fr. Diego Lopez de Andrade …

Largo Alfonso D’aragona

Son of the Dukes of Calabria, Ferdinand I of Naples and Isabella of Chiaromonte. He is credited with leading the liberation of Otranto in 1481, following the well-known Ottoman invasion of 1480…

Via Antonio Delli Falconi

Of Neapolitan origin, he is remembered—together with Francesco Zurlo—for having commanded the military garrison of Otranto. During the fifteen days of siege, the two captains organized and led…

Scalinata Francesco Zurlo

Lord of Pietragalla and Baron of Oppido Lucano, he was—together with Antonio Delli Falconi—one of the two captains to whom the King of Naples entrusted the command of the military garrison of Otranto in 1480…

Via Cenobio Basiliano

The Basilian Cenobium of San Nicola di Casole was an important monastery located near Otranto, founded in 1098 by the Basilian monk Jerome, with the support of the Norman Bohemond I of Hauteville…

Via Laggetto

He was the canon who stood out most for his detailed and faithful account of the events of 1480. Much of the information contained in his chronicle derived from the accounts of his father, who was an eyewitness to the events…

Via Domenico Rondachi

The Rondachi were a powerful Otrantine patrician family of Greek origin, counted among the most illustrious by the historian Luigi Maggiulli. In the 16th century, the family owned several fiefs in the area surrounding Otranto…

Via Padre L. Scupoli

He was born in Otranto around 1530 and was named Francesco Scupoli. He was esteemed for his Christian life, both in prayer and in the practice of the sacraments, as well as for his detachment from worldly possessions, and also for his…

Piazza A. De Ferraris

Detto “il Galateo”, naque a Galatone nel 1448 e fu consanguineo dell’arcivescovo Stefano Pendinelli, morto in Cattedrale durante l’assedio ottomano. Uomo noto per la cultura ampia e poliedrica (fu filosofo, medico….

Via Michele Leondari

Michele Leondari was one of the fighters who died defending Otranto in the early days of the Ottoman siege. His name appears in the epitaph of the Church of Santa Maria dei Martiri on the Hill of Minerva…

Via Papa Costantino I

Son of a man named Giovanni and brother of Pope Sisinnius, he came from a family of Syrian origin but belonged to the Roman clergy, within which he had pursued his ecclesiastical career…

Via Giuseppe Melorio

Giuseppe Melorio lived in the 18th century and was a magnanimous and benevolent man toward the poor. Upon his death in 1793, he left a number of legacies to be fulfilled by his testamentary heir, the Cav. Francesco…

Via Francesco Antonio Primaldo Ciatara

Born in Otranto in 1727, he was able to pursue his studies in preparation for the priesthood thanks to the financial support of Baron De Marco, and he was ordained by Archbishop Michele Orsi. His name…

Via San Francesco da Paola

Co-patron saint of Otranto, he was born in the small Calabrian town of Paola in 1416. He was named Francesco by his parents in honor of the Saint of Assisi, whose intercession they had invoked for his…

Via Cosimo de Giorgi

Born in Lizzanello on 9 February 1842, he was one of the greatest scholars of the Terra d’Otranto. He produced an enormous body of work over the course of his life, but his unquestioned masterpiece is “Provincia…”

Via Antonio Primaldo

Antonio Pezzulla was the first man from Otranto to be beheaded by the executioner Berlabei following the Turkish invasion of 1480. Before the execution, he spoke and declared that all his companions…

Via Pantaleone Presbitero

He was the creator of the mosaic of Otranto Cathedral (1163–1165). Neither his place nor the exact dates of his birth and death are known. Presumably born in the early years of the 12th century, he is considered…

Via Serafino da Squillace

He was a Franciscan friar of the Order of Friars Minor Reformed, known for his fervent activity as a preacher. On 20 October 1480, Pope Sixtus IV appointed him Archbishop of Otranto, succeeding…

Via Guglielmotto D’Otranto

Biographical information about him is scarce; however, we know with certainty that he was born in Otranto at the beginning of the 13th century. A Basilian monk, he most likely lived in the monastery…

Via Nicola D’Otranto (Nettario di Casole)

Very little is known about his birth, which took place in Otranto and can be dated between 1150 and 1160. What we do know for certain is that he died in 1235, at an age estimated to be between 75 and 85…

ex Convento dei Cappuccini

The former Capuchin Convent of Otranto, built in 1594 at the request of the local community, stands outside the city walls, in the Punta area. Today it appears in a state of ruin…

Via Antonio Sforza

He was born in Otranto on 17 June 1891 to Francesco Sforza, a stationmaster. A diligent student at the Archiepiscopal Seminary, he received a training that was both austere and excellent from the religious teachers of the time…

Via Giuseppe De Dominicis

Giuseppe De Dominicis, a poet known by the pseudonym “Captain Black“, was born on September 11, 1869, in Cavallino, in the province of Lecce, and died on May 15, 1905. Known as one…

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