"The Ottoman ambitions in Italy were ended. Had Otranto surrendered to the Turks, the history of Italy might have been very different. But the heroism of the people of Otranto was more than a strategically decisive stand. What made the sacrifice of Otranto so remarkable was the willingness to die for the faith rather than reject Christ."
The siege of Otranto – with the martyrdom of the inhabitants – was the last significant military attempt by a Ottoman force to conquer southern Italy. The slaughter was remembered by historians as a milestone in European history, because as a consequence of this sacrifice the Italian peninsula was never conquered by Ottoman troops. The martyrs were presented as civic heroes representing the strength and fortitude of the Italian people.
Ángel Cortellini Sánchez, was born in Madrid in the second half of the nineteenth century.
He learned to paint at a very early age, being taught by his father. He later studied at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts. A few years later his father encouraged him to make a trip to Italy to further his knowledge, as he himself had done, and he traveled around the cities of Milan, Turin and Genoa, among others.
His father had been a perfectionist and a foremost practitioner of portraiture, landscapes and genre scenes who explored practically all the genres except for marine painting. It was his son who later took up seascapes, learning from the great masters; he would visit harbors and carefully observe the sea, sketching the various ships and smaller vessels and details of the hundreds of elements to be found in a harbor.
Ángel Cortellini Sánchez explored naval actions and sought to capture historic events.
The Museo Naval in Madrid also owns a large collection that allows us to trace his career as a painter of seascapes.
Studying the models of 18th-century shipyards and arsenals at the Museo Naval allowed Cortellini to sink his scalpel into the bowels of vessels, making a perfect and detailed dissection of the ships he viewed in order to use his imagination to depict the sea and ships - the subjects he best mastered - with his own particular architecture. More on Ángel Cortellini Sánchez On 28 July 1480 an Ottoman force commanded by Gedik Ahmed Pasha, consisting of 90 galleys, 40 galiots and other ships carrying a total of around 150 crew and 18,000 troops, landed beneath the walls of Otranto. The city strongly resisted the Ottoman assaults, but the garrison was unable to withstand the bombardment for long. The garrison and all the townsfolk thus abandoned the main part of the city on 29 July, retreating into the citadel whilst the Ottomans began bombarding the neighboring houses.
The Turks promised clemency if the city capitulated but were informed that Otranto would never surrender. A second Turkish messenger sent to repeat the offer "was slain with arrows and an Otranto guardsman flung the keys of the city into the sea". At this the Ottoman artillery resumed the bombardment.
Unknown artist
Ferdinand I of Naples (1458 to 1494), c. 1473
Vellum, ff. 86,
249x187
Ordonnances and armorial of the Order of the Golden Fleece
A messenger was dispatched to beseech King Ferdinand of Naples for assistance, but most of the Aragonese militias were already committed in Tuscany. As time went on "Nearly 350 of Otranto's militia slipped over the city walls and fled." The remaining fifty soldiers fought alongside the citizenry dumping boiling oil and water on Turks trying to scale the ramparts between the cannonades.
Unknown artist
Turks trying to scale the ramparts between the cannonades
Siege of Orléans in 1428 (Vigiles de Charles VII, 15th century), circa 1484
Illumination on parchment
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The citadel fell, after a fifteen day siege, on August 12. When the walls were breached the Turks began fighting their way through the town.
Unknown artist
Martyred bishop of Otranto, Stephanus de Pendinellis (died 1480)
Chiesa dell'Assunta della Chiesa Matrice, Galatina
I have no further description, at this time
Upon reaching the cathedral "they found Archbishop Stefano Agricolo, fully vested and crucifix in hand" awaiting them with Count Francesco Largo. "The archbishop was beheaded before the altar, his companions were sawn in half, and their accompanying priests were all murdered." After desecrating the Cathedral, they gathered the women and older children to be sold into Albanian slavery. Men over fifteen years old were slain.
Unknown artist
St. Antonio Primaldo and his companion martyrs
I have no further description, at this time
Eight hundred able-bodied men were told to convert to Islam or be slain. A tailor named Antonio Primaldi is said to have proclaimed "Now it is time for us to fight to save our souls for the Lord. And since he died on the cross for us, it is fitting that we should die for him." To which those captives with him gave a loud cheer.
Unknown artist
Primaldo was the first victim
I have no further description, at this time
Primaldo was the first victim and was beheaded whilst standing. Legend says his body remained standing, and despite efforts to push it over, remained upright until the last victim was killed. This miracle was said to cause the conversion of an Ottoman officer called Bersabei, who became Christian. For this conversion, he was impaled by his own men.
Juan de Juanes
Portrait of the king Alfonso V of Aragón, circa 1557
Oil on panel
Height: 115 cm (45.2 in); Width: 91 cm (35.8 in)
Saragossa Museum
Juan de Juanes (c.1475-c.1545), was
a Spanish painter, the son of the painter Vicente Macip , who had almost
certainly studied in Italy, and probably in Venice. Juanes painted 'ideal'
Counter-Reformation images, based on Leonardo's Last Supper and Raphael's
Madonnas, but also with some influence from Flanders.
His work is technically less precise than that of his
father in the delineation of form; he preferred sfumato effects in modelling,
very different from the sharper sculptural outlines of Macip. In colour, Juanes
preferred clear, luminous tones with which he achieved a characteristic
Mannerist iridescence. His landscapes, too, differ from those of his father,
becoming yet another decorative element. They often include classical ruins
such as the pyramid of Caius Sextus or Egyptian obelisks, all of which are
treated with the same delicacy and grace as his human forms. More Juan
de Juanes
Between August and September 1480, King Ferdinand of Naples, with the help of his cousin Ferdinand the Catholic and the Kingdom of Sicily, tried unsuccessfully to recapture Otranto. Seeing the Turks as a threat to his home Alfonso of Aragon left his battles with the Florentines to lead a campaign to liberate Otranto from the Ottoman invaders beginning in August 1480. The city was finally retaken in the spring of 1481 by Alfonso's troops supported by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary's forces.
More on Saint ANTONIO PRIMALDO and the 800 SAINTS MARTYRS of OTRANTO
Please visit my other blogs: Art
Collector, Mythology, Marine
Art, Portrait of a Lady, The
Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The
Canals of Venice, Middle
East Artists, and 365 Saints, also visit my Boards on Pinterest
Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others.
Some Images may be subject to copyright
I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless
it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell
me.
I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are
shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.
If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.
Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.
Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.