The story of the martyrs of Otranto is as follows. On August 14th in the year 1480, the Turkish Ottoman's invaded and a massacre ensued. After the dust had settled, and prior to its reconquest by the Aragonese, some of the survivors and clergy took refuse in the city's cathedral. The OIttoman's ordered them to convert, they refused, and the end result was that they were martyred for their faith (while the cathedral itself was temporarily used to stable the Ottoman's horses as a sign of contempt) and later as a mosque.
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| Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata, Otranto |
After the reconquest of Otranto from Ottoman hands, the bodies of the 813 martyrs were translated to the cathedral. Over time, these relics were distributed to various locations, but located within the chapel of the martyrs in the cathedral of Otranto are a significant portion of their remains. They were canonized in 2013.
Here is their chapel.
