Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-07-24
STRAITS OF OTRANT0
HISTORIC WATER COURSE
SAILING Grounds Of Many Great Naynt
Expeditions OF Ancient and
Medieval DAYS.


WASHINGTON. July a3.-"Across tho
Straits OF otranto. whore nm Austrian
cruiser is reported TO have sunk saw
eral armored British patrol ho,t. 30
Gently nave sailed some of the greatest
his'orS-making expeditions Of ancient
and medieval times" says to-day,s war
geography bulletin, issued bv tho NJ
tional Geographic Society in Washing
ton
This f1n?-mile cxpanse or w,,o,
"n'ch joins the Adriatic and ronia n
seas "eraratcs tho southeastern ex-
trcmitS or heel OF the Italian peninsula
from that part of Albania which was
known n ancient times as Epirus.
~ is sixty miles from Otranto the
beautifully situated Italian fishing VII.
lage which gives It's name ), mo
straits. to Arlona, tho neares, ,n,, IN
Albania -Four hundred miles IN m,
northwest are Venice and Trieste. "a
me mead or tho Adriatic, while 20
hlics 10 tho southwest, bcyo.u tie
ionian Sea. is the British possession.
Malta.
At the beginning of The war O,ronio
VI scarcely more than GCg
INHABITANTS. but OF some jmpor,,u,, ~
the Italian terminus of the cabl, and
telegraph line to, Constantinoplc, via
AvloEa II also had cable connection
with the island OF Corfu,
me towns historical associations
date back to Graeco- Roman times. for
II occupies the site OF the ancient
HNdrns and was one of Itome's ports
OF emnarkation for Apollonia, tho
famous creek center of culture and
city in which the future Emperor Au-
gustus. Mas completing his cduca,iou
at the time he was summoned 10 tho
capital following the assassination of
Julius Caesar.
otranto was one OF the Calabrian
towns captured IN lO6S by Robert
Guiscard (the sly). that resourccfuI
norman adventurer who, at the high
tide OF his career. gave promise OF
duplicating In Southern Italy and in
Greece the triumphs won by his fellow :
countryman. William the Conoueror.
who. during tho same decade. was sub
DUNG England. -Four hundred years
later the seaport was again ratdcd. and
this time was completely destroyed BY
the Turks. From this setback It never
recovered.
Among the points of interest in tho
village to-day are the castle. built by
-fiPiioHso VI ATaSOn, ana the cathedral.
which dates back to the eleventh CEN
fury. and In which are to be found
some of the columns that once graccd
the Temple of Minerva at SON Nicola,
nearby.
South Of Otranto is an extremely
FERTILE and populous section of tho
Apulian Peninsula which terminates
thirty miles below the town in the pro-
inontory OF Maria di Leuca. with it's
Ia
extremity OF Italy. To
the northwest Of Otranto. fifty miles
by rail. is Brindist. the famous Brun-
5usium of the ancients. which has TAX on
on new lifo In recent years. owing to
It's advantageous position as a gateway
for the freight coming from beyond
the Alps through the Saint Gothard and
the Mount Cents tunnels. and destined
for the Far East through Suez
"Avlona. also called Nalona, on the
eastern shores of the Otranto straits.
has the best harbor on the Albanian
coast. being protected by the Island OF
Saseno and the lifty Cape Glossa- Like
Otranto, II suffered pillaSe at the hands
of the Turks in the fifteenth century.
1t recovered from this misfortune more
readily than its Italian sister city. for
1t is now n town OF 5000 people and en-
joys a considerable trade in hides,
olives. cotton. cattle and bitumen.
while il is famous for valonia. made
from the acorn cups gathered in ad-
jacent oak groves. This -four which
derives its name from the town, is
used extensively In the tanning indus
try.
1t was across the Straits OF Otranto
that the valiant Pyrrhus, cousin OF
the Great and professed de-
scendant of Pyrrhus, son Of Achilles,
sailed in the third century before the
era. EspousinG the cause OF
the people OF Tarentun. he fought
those desperate battles against Rome
which gave rise to the familiar phrase.
~ pyrrhic victory" used day to
describe a conflict the successful issue
of which is so costly to the victor as
ultima tely TO prove disastrous. 1t was
after Hcraclca. where for the first tins
in history Greeks and Romans were tho
opposing forces. that Pyrrhus, sur
veying the field where thousands OF
the bracest troops lay dead. exclaim-
cd:
Another such victory and 1 must
return 10 Epirus alone It was on the
same occasion that. observing the
wounds OF all the Romans killed in
action to be in front. he muzed Had
! such soldiers 1 should soon be master
of the world
BoY GROUND TO DEATH