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In 1480 and 1481 the city and fort of Otranto, in Apulia, southern Italy, were held by Ottoman troops.
AttackOn July 28, 1480 an Ottoman fleet of between 70 and 200 ships arrived near the Neapolitan/Aragonese city of Otranto, in what is now the region Apulia, Italy. Possibly these troops came from siege of Rhodes. On July 29 the garrison and the citizens retreated to the citadel, the Castle of Otranto. The citadel had no cannons. On 11 August the citadel walls were breached by cannons. The garrison was killed. A razzia was held to round up the male citizens. Archbishop Stefano Agricoli and others were killed in the cathedral. Bishop Stephen Pendinelli and the garrison commander, count Francesco Largo, were sawn in two alive. On August 12 800 citizens who refused to convert to Islam were taken to the Hill of the Minerva, today called Hill of the Martyrdoms, and beheaded. The cathedral was used as a stable. Some citizens were transported to Albania as slaves. In August 70 ships of the fleet attacked Vieste. On September 12 the Monastero di San Nicholas di Casole, which accommodated one of the richer libraries of Europe, was destroyed. In October 1480 Lecce, Taranto and Brindisi were attacked. Because of lack of food Gedik Ahmed Pasha returned with most of his troops to Albania, leaving a garrison of 800 infantry and 500 cavalry behind to defend Otranto. It was assumed he would return after the winter. ResponseSince it was only 28 years after the fall of Constantinople, there was some fear that Rome would suffer the same fate. Plans were made for the Pope and citizens of Rome evacuate the city. Pope Sixtus IV repeated his 1471 call for a crusade. Several Italian city-states, Hungary and France responded positively to this. The Republic of Venice did not, as it had signed an expensive peace treaty with the Ottomans in 1479. In 1481 an army was raised by king Ferdinand I of Naples to be led by his son Alphonso II of Naples. A contingent of troops was provided by king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. Counter attackThe city was besieged starting May 1 1481. On May 3 the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed II, died. This possibly prevented the sending of Ottoman reinforcements to Otranto. The city was recaptured in two attacks, the first on 23 August 1481 and the second on 10 September 1481. In the two battles the city was destroyed. The Ottoman garrison was killed. 
AftermathThe number citizens had decreased from 20,000 to 8,000. Out of fear of another attack, many of these 8,000 left the city. Some of the remains of the 800 martyrs are today stored in Otranto cathedral and in the church of Santa Caterina a Formiello in Naples. See alsoExternal links
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