The Otranto castle is linked to the event of the Turkish siege in 1480. Following this the Aragons extended the existing fortress with larger towers equipped with canons. History talks of a battle of Otranto and the Turkish commander Achmet Pascià who beheaded eight hundred citizens on Minerva Hill. This because of an order to choose the Muslim faith or face death, the dead became martyrs of the church and their remains are held in the nearby Cathedral of Santa Maria.
