Otranto is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.
It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. The harbour is small and has little trade.
The lighthouse Faro della Palascìa, at approximately 5 kilometres southeast of Otranto, marks the most easterly point of the Italian mainland.
About 50 kilometres south lies the promontory of Santa Maria di Leuca, the southeastern extremity of Italy, the ancient Promontorium lapygium or Sallentinum. The district between this promontory and Otranto is thickly populated and very fertile.
The area that lies between Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca is part of the Regional Natural Coastal Park of "Costa Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca e Bosco di Tricase" wanted by the Apulia Region in 2008. This territory has numerous natural and historical attractions such as Ciolo, which is a rocky cove.