Giorgio Otranto (19 September 1940 – 5 January 2023) was an Italian historian, specialized in the history of early Christianity.

Born in Corigliano Calabro, the son of a tailor, Otranto graduated in Classical Literature at the University of Bari.

[1] He founded the Centro di studi Micaelici e Garganici in Monte Sant'Angelo, a research institute mainly devoted to studies related to the Archangel Michael cult.

[2] He served as a full professor of History of Christianity and Churches in the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at his alma mater, and starting from the early 1990s he was visiting professor in a number of foreign universities.

[2] Otranto died of a cerebral haemorrhage in Bari, on 5 January 2023, at the age of 82.