Otranto. A fleet of Ottoman ships swells on the horizon, menacing, monstrous. Suddenly, to the villagers, the scenes from the Cathedral’s Tree of Evil seem prophetic. They are depictions of frightening beings and wretched humanity, made with 600,000 fine mosaic tiles, laid by Presbyter Pantaleone way back in 1165. The Ottomans will form a military camp outside the walls to prepare for the siege. The immense spectacle of the Turkish camp includes: several thousand men-at-arms, the fearsome janissaries with their characteristic long white hats, the sipahilers of the heavy cavalry with lance and saber, and the polished bronze of seven enormous bombards is clearly visible, as well as stacks of trestle-mounted mortars and targons, the heavy arquebuses as tall as a man, which to fire had to be supported by heavy iron poles driven into the ground. In total, there are 10,000 warriors, with a much larger entourage of armorers, cooks, doctors, and prostitutes. Within the walls of Otranto are approximately 10,000 individuals unfit for war, armed and hastily trained.
