L'Amazzone, demone della diversità, nella Leggenda del Prete Gianni e nel pavimento musivo della cattedrale di Otranto

Abstract

This essay analyses the picture of an Amazon in the mosaic floor of Otranto Cathedral (founded by the monk Pantaleone in 1166) and tries to identify a possible symbology through the analysis of classical and above all medieval sources. Particular attention is paid to the Legend and Letter (or Letters) of the Priest Gianni, who was famous in Europe from the 12^th to the 17^th centuries.