 Introduzione
Lecce is a city situated in the south of Italy, in the region of Apulia. Lecce lies mid-way along the Salentine peninsula, the heel of the Italian boot, in the southernmost part of Italy - some 30km southeast of Brindisi. Lecce is one of the most interesting towns in southern Italy, it is known for its important Baroque monuments erected by local architects using the beautiful and easily worked yellow limestone of the area. Lecce is called La Firenze della Puglia (The Florence of Apulia) because of the quantity of important monuments found there. The area where Lecce is located, is called Salento, another important nearby town is Otranto.
 Come Si Arriva
Plane
The closest ports are Brindisi (40 Km) and Bari (120 Km). Brindisi Casale is connected to the Lecce city by shuttle bus arriving in Lecce at Piazza Mazzini. There are 4 daily flights from Rome, 3 flights from Milan Linate, 2 flights from Milan Malpensa, 1 flight from Venezia. From Bari you can reach Lecce by train (about 1.5-2 hours).
Train
The trains from the Northern cities (Milan, Turin, Venice, Rome, Bologna, Trento and Naples) pass through Foggia, Bari, Brindisi and Lecce. For information consult the trenitalia website.
Bus
Marozzi bus line (06.44249519) offer many daily links from Rome to Otranto and Lecce. From Pisa there is a bus leaving at 7:00 PM and arriving in Lecce at 8:30 AM.
Car
The highways to Lecce are the A14 (or Adriatic) that runs on two thirds of the region and the A16 Napoli- Bari. To reach the Salento region, take the Adriatic-Taranto way and then continue on the Taranto-Brindisi-Lecce highway. The trip from Milan to Lecce will take 12 hours by car.
 History and Culture
According to the legend, a city called Sybar existed at the times of the War of Troy, founded by the Messapii Italic tribe. Since ancient times, its strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean had favoured the meeting between different cultures and had also made it become a conquered land, it was occupied by the Iapyges and conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century, receiving the new name of Lupiae. The signs of the Roman heritage in Lecce are a II century A.D. amphitheatre, a theatre of the same period and St Cataldo's harbour, situated 10 Km far from the town.
After the separation from the Roman Empire, the town remained under the dominion of the Eastern Empire until the 11th century, when it was conquered by the Normans. After the Norman conquest, Lecce regained commercial importance, continuing to flourish in the subsequent Hohenstaufen and Angevine dominations. From the 15th century onwards Lecce increased its status of one of the most important cities of southern Italy, and, starting from 1630, it was enriched with precious Baroque monuments. The main danger were the Ottoman invasion, for which a new line of walls and a castle were built by King Charles V in the first part of the 16th century.
In 1656 a plague broke out in the city, killing thousand of its inhabitants. The town passed under the Austrian dominion for a short time in 1700 and then to the Borbonis. In 1943, fighter aircraft based in Lecce helped support isolated Italian garrisons in the Aegean Sea fighting Germans during World War 2.
 Chiese e Musei
Chiesa di Santa Croce
North of Piazza Sant'Oronzo in the Piazza della Prefettura is the magnificent Baroque church of Santa Croce, it was begun in 1353, but works were soon halted until 1549, to be completed in 1695. The church has a elaborately decorated facade with animals, grotesque figures and vegetables with a large rose window and a fine interior. Adjoining it on the north is the extensive and richly ornamented facade of the Celestine convent (13th century) which belonged to the church; now Palazzo del Governo.
Chiesa di Santi Nicolò e Cataldo
Founded by the Norman Count Tancred in 1180, with a superb Romanesque doorway in the center of the Baroque facade of 1716 showing Arabian influence. The harmonious interior, with strong influence of French Gothic, has beautiful capitals.
Castello
Southeast of the Piazza Sant'Oronzo is the Castello, built by Charles V in 1539-48, on a trapezoid ground-plan. South of the town center in the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele stands the 18th century church of Santa Chiara and further south the church of San Matteo (built 17th century), with a bizarrely curved facade.
Piazza del Duomo
From the Piazza Sant'Oronzo the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II runs west, past the Theatine church of Sant'Irene (1639), into the Piazza del Duomo, with the cathedral of Sant'Oronzo (1658-70; tower 231 feet high), the Bishop's Palace and the Seminary, which has a richly decorated facade and a courtyard containing a fountain, completing one of the loveliest piazzas in Europe. 500m south of the Piazza del Duomo is the large Dominican church of Santa Maria del Rosario (1691-1728).
Provincial Museum
To the south of Lecce, in Piazza Argento, is the Palazzo Argento, which houses the Provincial Museum (ancient vases, terracottas, statues and pictures).
 Historical buildings and monuments
Piazza Sant'Oronzo
In the center of Lecce is the Piazza Sant'Oronzo, with an ancient column bearing a statue of the saint, and marking the end of the Via Appia. To the west of the column is the Palazzo del Sedile, a loggia built in 1592, and adjoining it the doorway of the little church of San Marco (founded 1543). On the south side of the square are the excavated remains of a Roman amphitheater.
Roman Amphitheatre
The Roman Amphitheatre, built in the 2nd century and situated near Sant'Oronzo Square, in its time, was able to host more than 25,000 people. It is now half-buried because other important monuments were built above it over the centuries.
 Eventi
St. Orontius - August 24-26
Lecce celebrates its patron saint, St Oronzo, from the 24th to the 26th of August. On this occasion the town puts on its Sunday best: processions, illuminations and fireworks.
 Utili
Offical site
Transport
Transport
Transport
Transport
Transport
Transport
Transport
Transport
|