The ancient Messapic town was conquered by the Romans. 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 by different peoples.

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 dominition of the Eastern Empire until the 11th century, when it was conquered by the Normans.

After the Norman conquest in the 11th century, Lecce regained commercial importance, as one of the largest and most important towns, when it was annexed directly to the crown. From the 15th century, Lecce was one of the most important cities of southern Italy, and, starting from 1630, it was enriched with many precious Baroque monuments. To avoid invasion by the Ottomans, a new line of walls and a castle were built, in the first part of the 16th century. After a dark period in the Middle Ages, the town flourished again as a cultural and humanistic centre during the 15th century, under the Aragonese monarchy. Then, during the 16th and 17th century Spanish dominion, the town got enriched from the architectural and urban point of view.The highest expression of this period is the Lecce Baroque.The town passed under the Austrian dominion for a short time in 1700 and then to the Borbonis.

If you want to spend you summer vacation in Lecce, there are many chanches that you fall in love with it forever.The Lecce Baroque has made this town deserve the name “ Florence of the south”. In fact, you can appreciate the magnificent sculptural decorations realized with the soft stone from Lecce in the local 17th century style. St Oronzo Square, in the town centre, is a beautiful and famous square the the patron saint statue and the presence of the ancient Roman amphitheatre are.

From the numerous and splendid architectural monuments in Lecce, we recommend you to visit Piazza Duomo with the Campanile, Pallazzo Vescovile and Pallazzo del Seminario which, during the night transform in a real fantastisc show of lights. The great symbol of the Lecce city is Santa Croce’s Church, that dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries and was finished by Giuseppe di Zimbal, represents the highest expression of Lecce Baroque. The church has a richly decorated faceade with animals, grotesque figures and vegetables, and a large rose window. Next to the church is the Government Palace, a former convent. Duomo Square offers us a very pictoresque view: the Palazzo Vescovile (the Episcopal Palace) and the Palazzo Arcivescovile (the Archiepiscopal Palace) form, together with the Cathedral (Duomo), another Baroque masterpiece of this land. Church of San Matteo, built in 1667. It has a typical central Italy Baroque style. It has two columns on the faceade, only one of which is decorated, though only partially. Other important churches are: Chiesa del Rosario, Chiesa dei S.S. Niccolò e Cataldo.

We have to mention also, the Museum Provinciale Castromediano, very rich in archeological materials of messapic, roman and greek origins and also the numerous celebration parties that are part of the traditional cultural leccese life. Some of these are:

Saint Oronzo Festival from 24th to 26th august, Festival of "la cecora resta" organized durante the beginning of October, Festival of Bread hel during 8th and 10th of June, the old Fiera dei Pupi e dei Pastori from 13th to 24th December (piazza Sant'Oronzo), and Festival of The Fish that takes place at the beginning of July.

How to arrive in Lecce

By car: Once arrived to Bari, you must take the highway A14 until you arrive at Brindisi/Lecce you must follow the signs on the main road.
By train: You should take the train , the national railway that connects you to stazione FFSS di Lecce.
By plane: The closest airport to Otranto is Brindisi airport (for further information on the planes/airports visit: Aeroporti di Puglia) from where you can reach Lecce by bus.

USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Sede Comunale - Via Rubichi - telefono Municipio 083...
Polizia Municipale - telefono 083...
Guardia Medica - telefono 083...
Ospedale "Vito Fazzi" - telefono 083...
Comando Carabinieri - telefono 083...
Guardia di Finanza - telefono 0832/672111
Vigili del Fuoco - telefono 0832/223311
Corpo Forestale - telefono 0832/318190
Tribunale di Lecce - telefono 0832/300111
Ferrovie del Sud Est - telefono 0832/668111
WEBSITE del comune: /www.comune.lecce.it