The strait that connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea has been attributed with the name of Otranto Straits or more popular the Strait of Otranto. The name has its origin in the name of a city called Otranto, located in Italy.

The strait had got the worldwide fame because of its significance in the World War I. The Allied Forces had made a naval blockade here named as the Otranto Barrage. The motive behind making the barrage was to stop the intrusion of Austro-Hungarian forces into the Mediterranean that could damage the allied forces over there. The Austrian forces tried several times to break the barrage and they made some night time raids also but they were unable to do it, though some submarines certainly slipped through it. The process of the submarines entering into the Mediterranean had been continued until the end of the war.