Thomas Ashby, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 20… (1911)
“ Two submarine cables start from Otranto, one for Valona, the other for Corfu. The harbour is small and has little trade. Otranto occupies the site of the ancient Hydrus or Hydruntum, a town of Greek origin. In Roman times it was less important than Brundusium as a point of embarkation for the East, though the distance to Apollonia was less than from Brundusium. It remained in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it was taken by Robert Guiscard in 1068. In 1480 it was utterly destroyed by the Turkish fleet, and has never since recovered its importance. ”
