LECCE, OLD TOWN

It’s the most important testament of the roman age, built in the II century A.D. to entertain with games and shows 20.000 passionate spectators. The Amphitheatre was unearthed in the XX century and erected with tuff pillars and stone archways. Some sculptures were recovered inside the theatre including the Goddess Athena, exposed at the Castromediano Museum. The Amphitheatre hosts theatrical shows and concerts.

In the marvelous frame of the homonym square, The Cathedral was first built in the 1144 and then completely re-edificated in 1659 at the behest of the bishop Luigi Pappacoda. The sober and elegant façade is decorated with statues sculpted in the leccese stone and it creates an atmosphere of boundless beauty. Not by chance the square has been the setting of the 2020 showcase of Dior’s new collection.

The castle was built between XIII and XIV century on a fortification near Sant’Oronzo Square at the behest of the King Carlo V. The plan of the castleis characterized by two concentric structures separated by a courtyard, four corner bastions with lanceolate tops and a moat. Today the Castle is the head quarter of the culture counsellorship and its halls are used for exhibitions and cultural or gastronomic manifestations.

The rose window on the façade of the Basilica is the symbol of the baroque style of Lecce. This majestic work was commissioned by the Order of Celestini and made between XVI and XVII century by the greatest architects and masters of the area. The Basilica is a monument of extraordinary beauty that harmoniously merges the most sophisticated baroque style with Renaissance elements. It’s an unmissable sight of the old town.

The oval shaped square, beating heart of the city life, hosts a heterogeneous architectural complex of buildings and monuments built between Middle Age and 19th century. The square is entitled to the patron Saint of the city to whom is dedicated a statue located on a 30-meters-tall column.

In addition to the Duomo Cathedral and the Basilica di Santa Croce, nearly 20 churches are dislocated around the old town. San Matteo Curch, with its curved façade, Sant’Irene Church and Santi Nicolò e Cataldo Church in the monumental cemetery, should be mentioned among the most ancient and fascinating ones.