Lecce › Places and landmarks
Places and landmarks in Lecce
15 landmarks of Lecce, and the streets, squares and waterways around them, each with its story and where to find it.
Photo: Giuseppe Milo, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
.jpeg){kind=link}
Landmarks
Basilica di Santa CroceThe high point of Lecce Baroque, built between 1549 and 1695. Its façade is smothered in lions, plants, mythical beasts and saints, all carved in the soft, honey-coloured local limestone. Next door stands the Palazzo dei Celestini, now the provincial government’s seat.
Piazza del DuomoAn enclosed square that only reveals itself once you step inside. The cathedral was rebuilt in 1659 by Giuseppe Zimbalo, and its campanile is 70 m tall. The Bishop’s Palace and the Seminary stand around the square too, all in the same Baroque stone.
Piazza Sant’OronzoThe heart of Lecce. The 2nd-century Roman amphitheatre lies half sunk beneath the square and once held around 25,000 spectators. On a column that came from Brindisi stands Saint Oronzo, the city’s patron. Close by is the Sedile, the old town hall from 1592.
Charles V CastleA castle with a square plan and broad bastions, rebuilt in the 1530s on the orders of Emperor Charles V to defend the city against the Turks. It has also been a prison and a barracks. Today it hosts exhibitions, and the papier-mâché museum.
Porta NapoliA triumphal arch from 1548, built for Charles V, and the grandest of the city’s three gates. It faces the road to Naples, hence the name. On the square in front stands an obelisk from 1822, in honour of King Ferdinand I.
Roman TheatreA small Roman theatre from the time of Emperor Augustus, only rediscovered in the 1930s among the houses. It held about 5,000 spectators. You can still see its semicircular tiers and floor mosaics.
Porta RudiaeThe city’s western gate, rebuilt in 1703 in Baroque style. It is named after Rudiae, the ancient town of the poet Ennius just outside Lecce. Above the gateway sits Saint Oronzo, flanked by Saint Domenico and Saint Irene.
Porta San BiagioThe southern city gate, built in 1774 and dedicated to Saint Blaise. It leads into the old town from the road to Otranto and the Adriatic coast, and is the last of the three gates still standing.
Villa ComunaleThe Giuseppe Garibaldi city park, just outside the old walls. A calm spot among palms and trees, close to the castle and the centre. A good place to hide from the southern sun for a while.
Chiesa di Santa ChiaraA small Baroque church from 1687, with an octagonal plan. Inside, the richly decorated dome and the papier-mâché ceiling stun: a craft Lecce is known for. It stands right by the Roman theatre.
Also part of Lecce
Pietra lecceseThe soft, honey-coloured limestone that the whole old town is built and carved from.
PasticciottoA small oval pastry of shortcrust filled with warm custard, eaten for breakfast in every bar of the Salento.
Papier-mâchéStatues of saints made of paper, straw and glue, a craft Lecce has practised for four centuries.
PizzicaThe fast, whirling folk dance of the Salento, played on tambourines through the summer nights.
Caffè lecceseAn espresso poured over ice and sweet almond milk: Lecce’s answer to the summer heat.
Streets, squares and waterways
The places that hold the centre of Lecce together. Point at one to find it on the map.
-
1
Piazza Sant’Oronzo square
Lecce’s main square, with the Roman amphitheatre half dug out in the middle and Saint Oronzo on his column above it.
-
2
Via Vittorio Emanuele II street
The main street of the old town, from Piazza Sant’Oronzo past the church of Sant’Irene to the cathedral.
-
3
Piazza del Duomo square
The closed square of the cathedral, the bishop’s palace and the seminary, which opens only through a narrow gap from the street.
-
4
Via Giuseppe Libertini street
The street from the cathedral to Porta Rudiae, past the Rosario church, the last work of Giuseppe Zimbalo.
-
5
Porta Rudiae gate
The western gate, rebuilt in 1703, with Saint Oronzo on top, on the road to the ancient town of Rudiae.
-
6
Via Giuseppe Palmieri street
A street of noble palaces that leads from the heart of the old town to Porta Napoli.
-
7
Porta Napoli gate
The triumphal arch of 1548 for Charles V, where the road to Naples left the city.
-
8
Via Umberto I street
The street of the Basilica di Santa Croce and the long front of the Palazzo dei Celestini, now the seat of the provincial government.
-
9
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II square
A small square just south of Piazza Sant’Oronzo, in front of the octagonal church of Santa Chiara and a few steps from the Roman theatre.
-
10
Porta San Biagio gate
The southern gate of 1774, with Saint Blaise on top, facing the road to Otranto.
-
11
Charles V Castle Castello Carlo V building
The square fortress with arrow-shaped bastions on the east side of the old town, now open for exhibitions.
-
12
Villa Comunale park
The 19th-century public garden named after Garibaldi, with palms and pines, just outside the old town by the castle.
-
13
Via Salvatore Trinchese street
The shopping street of the newer city, from Piazza Sant’Oronzo east to Piazza Mazzini.
-
14
Piazza Mazzini square
The large square of the 20th-century city outside the old walls, ringed by shops.