La conquista otomana de otranto de 1480 en la historiografía Italiana y española (SIGLOS XV-XVI-XVII)

Abstract

The work focuses on the analysis of the historiographical debate developed in Italy and Spain during the XvI-XvII centuries about the ottoman invasion of the city of otranto in 1480, then part of the Kingdom of Naples. The aim is to deepen the knowledge of the reasons and consequences of the ottoman conquest through the analysis of relevant works about the topic. The arrival of the troops of Gedik Ahmed Pasha in the summer of 1480 provoked a great impression in the Christian world and proved the profound crisis of Fernando of Aragon's Kingdom. The invasion was a consequence of the ambitious expansion policy of Mehmet II in the West. Despite the early victories, the ottomans failed to stay in southern Italy, therefore the conquest of otranto was one of the least durable of Mehmet II. This study consists of the analysis of the «otrantinas» works and especially the portraits of the most prominent characters as Alfonso and Fernando of Aragon and Gedik Ahmed of ottoman Realm. The starting point is founded on the first literary evidences as the Liber de situ Iapygiae by Galateo and De bello hydruntino by Giovanni Albino until the Crónica de los turcos by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, the Historia pontifical by Gonzalo de Illescas, the Successi dell'armata turchesca by Giovanni Michele Marziano, the Historia de los mártires de la ciudad de otranto by Francisco de Araujo. This work represents the peak of the «otrantina» literature, it was published in Naples in 1631 and it is the only monograph on the subject written in Spanish. It is not just an historical report, but also an apology of the martyrs killed by Turkish for refusing to renounce their Catholic faith.