Sights in Lecce
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Cathedral
Piazza del Duomo is a baroque feast, the city’s focal point and a sudden open space amid the surrounding enclosed lanes. During times of invasion the inhabitants of Lecce would barricade themselves in the square, with its conveniently narrow entrances. The 12th-century cathedral is one of Giuseppe Zimbalo’s finest works – he was also responsible for the towering, 68m‑high bell tower. The cathedral is unusual in that it has two facades, one on the western end and the other, more ornate, facing the piazza. It’s framed by the 15th-century Palazzo Vescovile (Episcopal Palace) and the 18th-century Seminario, designed by Giuseppe Cino.
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Piazza del Duomo
The geographical heart of Lecce is the Piazza del Duomo, although it feels cut off from the city. It's a clever trick, intended by the architects who designed it; first they set it back down a small alley off the main corso, then they enclosed it with operatic buildings, leaving just one narrow access flanked by imposing entrance piers. In the past this could be closed by a huge oak door, although that is long gone.
It is quite ingenious, and even now as you walk into the square you experience a feeling of wonder as the drama of the piazza reveals itself to you.
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Roman Amphitheatre
Below the ground level of Piazza Sant’Oronzo is the restored 2nd-century-AD Roman amphitheatre, discovered in 1901 by construction workers. It was excavated in the 1930s to reveal a perfect horseshoe with seating for 15,000. Nearby rises the Colonna di Sant’Oronzo, a statue of Lecce’s patron saint, perched precariously on the second pillar from Via Appia – the Roman road that stretched from Rome to Brindisi.
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Museo Provinciale
The Museo Provinciale stylishly covers 10,000 years of history, from Palaeolithic and Neolithic bits and bobs to a handsome display of Greek and Roman jewels, weaponry and ornaments. The stars of the show are the Messapians, who were making jaunty jugs and bowls centuries before the Greeks arrived to give them any pottery lessons. There are also some excellent temporary exhibitions.
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Basilica di Santa Croce
It seems that hallucinating stonemasons have been at work on the Basilica di Santa Croce. Sheep, dodos, cherubs and beasties writhe across the facade, a swirling magnificent allegorical feast. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries a team of artists – under Giuseppe Zimbalo – laboured to work the building up to this pitch.
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Colonna di Sant'Oronzo
Beside the sunken arena of the Roman amphitheatre rises the Colonna di Sant'Oronzo, a copperplate statue of Lecce's patron saint perched precariously on the second pillar of the Appian Way. It was supposedly donated to the city of Lecce as a sign of thanks to Sant'Oronzo (Lecce's patron saint) for saving Brindisi from the plague in 1656.
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Obelisk
Just outside Porta Napoli, a commemorative obelisk recalls another Spanish overlord, Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies. It was carved by local sculptor Vito Carluccio in 1822-26, and depicts panels of mythological and historical symbolism relating to Lecce, Taranto, Brindisi and Gallipoli, the four districts of the Terra d'Otranto.
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Castello di Carlo V
Lecce’s 16th-century Castello di Carlo V was built around a 12th-century Norman tower to the orders of Charles V. It consists of two concentric trapezoidal structures. It’s been used as a prison, a court, and military headquarters; now you can wander around the baronial spaces and visit the occasional art exhibition.
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Porta Napoli
The main city gate, Porta Napoli, was erected in 1548 in anticipation of a state visit from Charles V. It's a typically militaristic effort by General Acaja (builder of the castle), who modelled it on a Roman triumphal arch and gave it a pointy pediment carved with toy weapons and an enormous Spanish coat of arms. Subtle it is not.
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Palazzo Marrese
North from Piazza del Duomo, Via Palmieri takes you past more stately palazzi from the 17th and 18th centuries, the most notable being Palazzo Marrese with its four female caryatids flanking the door. It is set back on Piazetta Ignazio Flaconieri and stands beside Palazzo Palmieri.
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Chiesa del Rosario
A notable baroque church is Chiesa del Rosario which was the last work of Giuseppe Zimbalo. Instead of the intended dome roof, it ended up with a quick-fix wooden one following Zimbalo’s death before the building was completed.
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Chiesa dei SS Nicolò e Cataldo
The Chiesa dei SS Nicolò e Cataldo, near Porta Napoli, was built by the Normans in 1180. It got caught up in the city’s baroque frenzy and was revamped in 1716 by the prolific Cino, who retained the Romanesque rose window and portal.
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Porta Rudiae
Via Libertini exits the historic centre through one of the city's three monumental gates, Porta Rudiae. It takes its name from the original Roman settlement of Rudiae (or Lupiae), which was located 3km southwest of Lecce.
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Museo Teatro Romano
A small Roman theatre was uncovered in the 1930s – a neat little arc hemmed between buildings. This contains the Museo Teatro Romano, with well-preserved russet-coloured Roman mosaics and frescoes.
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Chiesa di San Matteo
A notable baroque church which is located 200m to the south of Chiesa di Santa Chiara is the Chiesa di San Matteo.
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Chiesa di San Marco
The little Chiesa di San Marco, was built for the Venetians in 1543, and clearly sports the Lion of St Mark in the decorated lunette above the door.
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Chiesa di Santa Chiara
A notable baroque church is Chiesa di Santa Chiara. It possesses in every niche a swirl of twisting columns and ornate statuary.
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Sedile
The Sedile was the seat of the Town Hall until 1851; the large glass windows were a literal demonstration of governmental transparency.
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Palazzo Vescovile
Facing the cathedral is the 15th-century Palazzo Vescovile (Espiscopal Palace), with its arched arcade loggia.
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Porta San Biagio
Porta San Biagio is Lecce's third city gate, which opens out onto a park on the other side of Piazza Italia.
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Palazzo Guarini
Palazzo Guarini is one of the best-preserved aristocratic residences in Lecce.
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Chiesa di Sant’Irene
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