The "Jewish" Tower of Babel in Otranto

On the left, approximately halfway down the central nave of the Cathedral of Otranto, the famous mosaic floor (1163-1165) depicts for the first time in Southern Italy the biblical scene of the construction of the Tower of Babel (Genesis, 11, 19).

C.A. Willemsen, who was the first and best to study it, was able to identify a significant, but not the only, Jewish influence. He writes that the Tower scene is undoubtedly drawn from a medieval Jewish tale that speaks of two ladders, one to ascend and the other to descend the tower itself. For this detail, there is no iconographic evidence, except for one contained in a mosaic in San Marco in Venice (two ladders, indeed) and one in Monreale, where the ladder is single, perhaps a coincidence and not a direct reference to the Jewish tale. However, two ladders are leaning against the Tower of Otranto. This is the most crowded scene of the Towers of the period and is extremely interesting for what is a true reconstruction not only of a typical monumental construction site of the period—the first for Salento and perhaps beyond—but also for the use and application of building materials.

The tower was built by stacking isometric stone courses, all of the same height, according to methods that would forever be typical of local construction methods, taking advantage of the enormous quantities of available cut stone. The individual oblong pieces (piezzi) were carried on shoulders (this was the case until about 70 years ago), after rough-hewing (pictured left). At the top, a master builder uses a trowel (cucchiara) to apply mortar to them: the stone is therefore soft, perhaps Lecce stone. Below, a figure looks up, as if supervising the work, and is adorned with a cape, a different outfit from all the others: perhaps he was the Tower's architect.

This excerpt is from "SALENTO SEGRETO - Storie, misteri, luoghi e leggenda" (Salento Secret - Stories, Mysteries, Places and Legends), edited by Mario Cazzato, Edizioni Grifo, available at newsstands and bookstores.