Ottoman Invasion of Otranto and the Martyrs of Otranto

Background. Following the 1480 Siege of Rhodes, Ottoman naval commander Gedik Ahmed Pasha received orders from Sultan Mehmed II to cross the Strait of Otranto. The Republic of Venice, bound by a 1479 peace treaty, did not intervene, leaving the Kingdom of Naples vulnerable to the Ottoman fleet's approach in the summer of 1480.

Invasion and Capture. On 28 July 1480, an Ottoman fleet of 128 ships arrived near Otranto. After laying siege to the city, the Ottomans captured it on 11 August 1480. Historical accounts vary on the total casualties, with some citing 12,000 killed and 5,000 enslaved, while others suggest many inhabitants were sold into slavery rather than slaughtered.

Martyrdom of the Inhabitants. On 14 August 1480, 813 inhabitants of Otranto, including Antonio Primaldo, were executed on the Hill of Minerva for refusing to convert to Islam. Primaldo was beheaded first. The bodies were later found incorrupt on 13 October 1481 and transferred to the city's cathedral, where their relics remain.

Liberation of Otranto. Pope Sixtus IV called for an Italian crusade in April 1481. Christian forces, including troops from Naples, Sicily, and Hungary, besieged Otranto starting 1 May 1481. The Ottomans surrendered in August 1481 and left the city in September, ending their occupation.