Lecce Top 10

Lecce is also called “The baroque lady”. It’s this art which characterize spires, portals, churches, monuments and houses of the “centro storico”. Walking through Porta Napoli you’ll enter in the part North of the ancient city, from here start the principal streets on which give onto the refined XVIII century palaces. The church of St Mary of Providence, in Baglivi square, and the church of St. Mary of Constantinople, in Addolorata square,
In Via Umberto I, you’ll see Adorno Palace and the Basilica of the Saint Cross, the latter is a real symbol of the city and of the Baroque art. Then you can have a walk in St. Oronzo square, heart of the city life, where the beautiful column dedicated to the Saint Patron rise. You must not miss the Cathdral square, where the Cathedral is just one of the imposing buildings you can see in: the beautiful bell tower, the seminary palace and the bishop palace deserve attention too. If you want to spend some time “on the grass” you can visit the Villa Comunale (Public garden) which is near St. Oronzo square.

This is the most relevant testimonial of the Roman age, it was built in the II century AC to entertain the soldiers settled in the surroundings of the city. The monument was completely buried under rubble because of earthquakes, and only after the second world war, thanks to some excavations, it was brought back to the surface. The part of the monument which is visible today it’s just one third of its original size, the rest is probably still under the central Sant’Oronzo square. The amphitheatre structure was with tuff pillars surmounted by arcades. Some statues were found in this structure, a statue of Athena which deserve particular attention (it’s kept at the Castromediano’s Museum) and some marble relieves that were on the rail that divided the two flights of steps. The scenes represented on these marble relives are an important document of the spectacles that were represented in the amphitheatre: hunting and wrestle between hunters and animals.

Informations to visit the Roman Amphiteatre of Lecce:
When: in April, May and September from 10,30 am to 12 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm. From June to August from 6 pm to 8 pm. (During the closing period is possible to visit the amphitheatre under reservation)

The Cathedral of Lecce is situated on the homonym square and is the fulcrum of the religious life of the city. The Cathedral is dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption and was first built in 1144, then in 1230 there were made maintenance works, and the church was definitely rebuilt in 1659 by the architect Giuseppe Zimbalo under request of the bishop Luigi Pappacoda, his mortal remains are conserved in the altar dedicated to St. Oronzo ( The Saint Patron of the city). The Cathedral has two entrances, the principal is on the left side of the church and the second on the square. The principal façade is sober and elegant, the second entrance is a masterpiece of Baroque art with a statue representing St. Oronzo at the centre and at his sides St Giusto and St. Fortunato. The church has a Latin cross plan with the interior space organized with a nave and two aisles, separated by pillars and semi columns. The central nave and the transept are covered by a wood roof in which there are mounted painting representing the Martyr of St. Oronzo and the Last supper. This Cathedral has twelve altars. In the square where the Cathedral is there are other monuments too: the bell tower, the bishop palace and the seminary which contributed to enhance its beauty.

Near St Oronzo square rise a castle which was built by Carlo V in 1539. The project of the building was made by the architect Gian Giacomo dell’Acaya and to build this fortress two constructions were pulled down: the Chapel of the Trinity and the Monastery of the Benedictine Order of the Saint Cross. The castle didn’t has only defensive functions, in the XVIII century one of its rooms was used as theatre. From the 1870 to the 1979 it was used as military district. Nowadays it is the seat of the Cultural Affairs of the township of Lecce, a perfect backdrop for all the cultural initiatives that here take place. Visitors will remain charmed with the delicate ornaments of the interiors: the capitals and the decorated big room, with imposing big stained glass windows. The rooms of the upstairs are sustained by imposing stone columns. There’s a legend linked with this castle: it tells that the family which owned this castle in XIV century, the Orsini del Balzo family, kept a white bear in the moat of the castle. This animal was a status symbol and, at the same time, it scared prowlers.

Informations to visit the Castle of Lecce:
When: from 9 am to 6 pm
Tickets: free entrance
How to get here: the Castle is in Viale XXV Luglio, near St. Oronzo square.

St. Oronzo square is the principal square of Lecce. It has a characteristic mosaic paving on which is represented the city coat of arms. The buildings that look onto the square, built between Middle age and XIX century, constitute an heterogeneous architectural group, with many different styles, that coexist in a harmonious way. From 1656 the square is dedicated to the Saint Patron of the city, the statue of St. Oronzo is situated on a big column which rise in the centre of the square represent him in the act of blessing the city. The legend tells that during plague epidemic that afflicted all the Reign of Naples, Lecce was spared thanks to the saint intervention. The column is just one of the attractive of the square, as we said a part of the square is stood by the Roman Amphitheatre. There are the ex seat of the City Hall, that today houses art exhibitions, and the ancient church of St. Mark which remembers the little Venetian community that lived in the city, and the church of St. Mary of Grace, which was built in 1590 after a mysterious find of a painting representing the Virgin with the baby.

Lecce is full of churches: we have already talk about the Cathedral, real fulcrum of the religious life, but a multitude of churches are disseminated in the streets and in the squares of the city. Among these, we must suggest you the Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Saint Cross): it is situated in the centre and it is one of the most important architectural complex of the city and a significant example of Lecce’s baroque. The most ancient church is the Church of St. Nicolò and Cataldo: it was built in the Middle Age and then restructured in 1716 acquiring a Baroque appearance but preserving elements of its original style. St. Mary of Cerrate Abbey has an arcade finely carved and a beautiful renaissance well; The Church of St Giovanni Evangelista (St. John Evangelist) has an austere exterior but a very luxurious interior; The church of Santa Maria della Grazia (St Mary of Grace) is rich of cues coming from the Greek art. Here we have given you just some examples of the great number of churches that you can visit in Lecce. They all proudly keep the historical, religious and artistic patrimony of this city.

Good food is a characteristic of Lecce: earth and sea seems to always want to give their best in this city. The typical food is very rich and is often enriched with spices coming from the Mediterranean maquis as: sage, mint, oregano, rosemary… Vegetables and legumes are one of the principal ingredients, cooked in earthen pots and enriched with olive oil (olive oil is a typical production of the surroundings of Lecce) served on the “friselle” (general served with a bowl of water, it’s a round hard rock bread that should be immersed into water before being ate). The “rustico leccese” is a delicious salty cake made of two slices of flaky pastry filled with mozzarella, bechamel sauce, tomatoes, pepper and nutmeg; The “puccia” is a little round olive studded bread… but pay attention when you eat it: the olives aren’t stoned! If you like particular kinds of food, you must known that in Lecce one of the typical dishes is the “municeddhe”, little snails that should be picked up when they cover their crack shell with a white membrane (municeddhe in Lecce’s dialect means “little nuns”, because of the resemblance between the white membrane and the veil of the nuns). If you have a sweet tooth you sure appreciate the “pasticciotto” a little short pastry cake filled with cream (delicious when it’s hot), or you could choose among the infinite variety of almond paste. In Lecce you’ll also find a great choice of wines: the red wines of this area are very known: the Negramaro, the Salice Salentino and the Primitivo di Manduria.

Lecce, as for all the Region Apulia, has a strong artisan tradition. The wrought iron, earthenware, copper and cane: all these materials are used to make both all day objects and art works. But this city has two particular productions: the paper mache and the Lecce’s stone (pietra leccese). The first one diffused in the area when the Church, to grow the religious feeling of population, improved the production of statues and sacred imagines made of this material: the techniques of the ancient time are still being used today. The stone, that you can also see on the façade of the churches and of the palaces of the city, it’s still worked by artisan and stonecutters: both in original forms and forms linked to the tradition. In the street of the ancient centre of the city you ‘ll see the little workshops where to buy these objects, but the perfect place to admire all the wonders of this original material is the permanent artisan exhibition (Mostra Permanente dell’Artigianato) where you can buy and bring home a piece of history of Lecce. Every last Sunday of a month, you can go to Libertini square, where there’s the antique market: hundreds stands on which see (and eventually buy…) potteries and traditional objects.

We’re sure that Lecce night life won’t deceive you. In the lastest years this city has seen a growth of clubs that can satisfy everyone. It’s grown, for example, the number of Irish and British style pubs, places where you could have a good beer.
But, as for the greatest part of the cities of the South of Italy, a very big number of people love to stay in the streets and in the squares. The vitality of Lecce’s nights is due to the presence of the University too, this is a city full of students. Young people likes to walk for hours in the streets of the centre stopping sometimes to talk with friends meet in the street. If you come in the summertime you can move in direction of the coast, all the area is one of the most known bathing resort of the South of Italy, and especially in August, you’ll find a hundred ways to have fun: beautiful discos, clubs on the beach, pubs… you’ll just have to choose.

Lecce is in the centre of the Salentine Peninsula, half way between the Ionian sea and the Adriatic sea. Warm winters and hot summers made this city the perfect destination for the holiday both summer and winter. The city has a great number of hotels, b&b and country houses. You can choose to stay in the centre of the city, to sleep among the monuments, or if you prefer, you can choose to stay in one of the lovely town of the surroundings. A great particularity of this zone are the country houses, which often were real abandoned farms. New owners renovated them and made them become beautiful country houses or B&B. Immersed into the barren country of Salento, with the beautiful stretch of olives and prickly pear. If you choose to stay a little far from the centre, you’ll also admire its characteristic red ground.