SALENTO AND ITS SURROUNDINGS

In the north-central plains of Salento, 11 km from the Adriatic coast and 23 km from the Ionian Coast, stands Lecce, a city of sumptuous beauty steeped in history, culture and art.

 

Lecce, the baroque city par excellence, speaking of the baroque part of Lecce, was chosen from over 5,000 cities worldwide for the beauty of its monuments and its historic baroque center and was inserted in the list of "Best in travel 2010 "by Lonely Planet as a city to visit in 2010 (the only Italian city).

 

The famous “Lecce stone”, a limestone malleable that is easy to work with the chisel, did, in fact, in a succession of decades, give the city a beauty with precious friezes, capitals, pinnacles, rosettes on its monuments, its palaces, churches and also the Cathedral.That’s why the city is called the Florence of the South

 

Lecce, one of the culturally riches and alive cities of the Mediterranean, offers its visitors a glimpse of history of rare beauty and particular value like the Amphitheatre and the Roman Theatre from the Augustan Age, the Tower of Belloluogo, an important example of architecture of military Angevin from the fourteenth century, the Tower Park, located in the heart of Lecce, landmark of the city's medieval and Renaissance period, the Castle of Charles V, Piazza Sant'Oronzo defined the elegant lounge of Lecce, the Cathedral with its 70 meters high bell tower, whose summit can see the Adriatic coas and in particularly clear days also the mountains of Albania, many buildings of great artistic value and the doors of the old city: The Triumph Arc (Porta Napoli), Porta Rudiae , Porta St. Biagio and Porta San Martino.

 

The city of Lecce also sponsors events of great cultural importance, such as the Fair of Cribs and Puppets, The Baroque Award and the European Film Festival.

 

The beauty does not stop in Lecce but you’ll find it also in its province, one of the most famous cities are Santa Maria di Leuca, Otranto and Gallipoli.

 

At 68 km from Lecce lies Santa Maria di Leuca, the city where "the land ends and the two seas meet”, a tourist destination famous for the nineteenth century villas and its coastline, from the west to the east side, bordered by many fascinating caves, rich in Greek and Latin inscriptions in the cave “Porcinara "or Neolithic findings like the cave of the “Devil”. 

 

Less than 40 km from Lecce you will find Otranto and Gallipoli.

 

Gallipoli is a town divided into two parts: the old town situated on an island of limestone, which is connected to the mainland by an arched bridge of the seventeenth century, the village, and the most recent part of the city hosting the new buildings like the glass Palace. Of great historic and wildlife is the island of St. Andrew, about a mile away from the old town.

 

Otranto is a location which is one of most beautiful villages in Italy. It hosts an impressive cathedral, diverse and prestigious churches and the Castle of Otranto, which named was used for the first Gothic novel in history (The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, 1764). The narture of the Daer Cave has a particular importance, which contains a priceless archaeological heritage.

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Lecce and its province