KÜLTÜREL BELLEK MEKÂNI OLARAK OTRANTO KATEDRALİ VE 1480 OTRANTO SEFERİ
OTRANTO CATHEDRAL AS A SITE OF CULTURAL MEMORY AND THE 1480 OTRANTO CAMPAIGN

Summary/Abstract: Puglia/Apulia (Pulya/Apulya), one of Italy’s 20 regions, is situated in the south of the country. Historically, the Turks have established contact with the region through military campaigns. The Ottoman Empire’s first contact with the region was established in 1480 through the Otranto Campaign, led by Gedik Ahmed Pasha, for political, military, religious and strategic reasons. With this campaign, the Ottomans conquered Otranto, and the city remained under Ottoman rule for 13 months. This conquest had a profound impact on the region’s cultural fabric, leaving traces that remain clearly evident in the region’s folklore to this day. One of the elements in which these traces in Puglia’s cultural memory are particularly evident today is Otranto Cathedral. The identification, examination and evaluation of the folkloric elements present in this cathedral, which holds an important place in the region’s cultural heritage, shed light on the cultural memory and cultural heritage of Otranto, located in the Puglia region of Italy. The aim of this study is to identify and evaluate the role of Turks in the formation and development of cultural memory and cultural heritage, as well as their contribution to this process, within the cathedral complex in the city of Otranto, in the Puglia region of Italy. This study, which employs qualitative research methods, utilises data collection techniques such as interviews, observation and a review of data sources. In this context, interviews were conducted with 15 informants living in Otranto and the surrounding area, observations were made during the commemorative ceremonies held at the cathedral, and relevant sources were reviewed. The scope of the study is limited to Otranto and its surroundings. The research concluded that the Turkish image holds observable significance within the cultural memory of Italy’s Puglia region through material elements, narratives and ceremonies, and that it has an impact on the development and continuity of the region’s social identity and sense of belonging.

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