Lecce is a city in Italy’s southern Puglia (or Apulia in Italian) region. It’s known for its baroque architecture, numerous churches (23 from the last count I found which include 2 basilicas and the duomo!) and its ancient city walls. And the surprise for us was the sunken Roman amphitheater in the center of the city!
With a history going back over 2,500 years, you will find beautiful historic buildings all over the old city. And many of its buildings are built of the characteristic “pietra leccese” (lecce stone) which is a light yellow, or golden-hued, easily worked limestone. Lecce is also known as the “Florence of the South” because of its rich Baroque architecture.
The Lecce Cathedral (Duomo di Lecce) is one of the main attractions and for many reasons. It is an amazing example of baroque style and like with many things, you should never judge a book by its cover. The exterior of the Lecce Cathedral may be unassuming from the outside, you will surely be surprised by it’s interior!
While Lecce is known for its baroque style architecture, it is also famous for the papier-mâché art (cartapesta in Italian). There are some amazing pieces of art that were in some cases hard to even tell it was papier-mâché!
Where we stayed:
If you have been following our travel you know that we have rented a car and have been driving throughout Italy and using google (or apple) maps to get us from A to B. When driving up to where google maps said our hotel was located we were a little confused because all we saw was what looked like a city gate and medieval looking fortress. We were super excited when we realized that was actually our hotel, the Torre del Parco! Located in the heart of Lecce, the Torre del Parco is part of a medieval fortress dating back to the 15th century. We were just a few hundred yards from the historic city center and not too far from the Salento coast (which we did a day trip to and will talk about later)!
First let’s talk about our hotel because it was easily the most unique place we have stayed all year. The part of the fortress we stayed in was the “Historic House” which is located inside an ancient Convent which was built in 1600 on the ruins of the 15th century complex. This complex is composed of the Tower, the Prince’s Palace, the State Mint and the Court. Click HERE to read more about the history of this place.
This hotel was absolutely amazing. Just walking through the courtyards or many terraces took you back in time and had such a majestic feeling to it. And the breakfast we were served was unbelievable. Instead of the typical buffet we received in most of our hotels, we were served a multi course meal with a choice of Greek, vegetarian or traditional pugliese cuisine. We were treated like royalty during our visit!
Nom Nom Nom
If you come to Lecce, you will definetly have to try the pasticciotto, a classic Pugliese delicacy. It consists of a shortcrust pastry shell filled with delicious custard inside. If you get fresh baked pasticciotto be sure and let it cool when you break it open or your mouth will pay the price! The cream inside can be dangerously hot.
The other local pastry local to this region is called rustico. This traditional Italian pastry is a savory treat that is filled with various fillings enclosed between two layers of puff pastry. Typically round in shape, it is filled with a combination of béchamel sauce, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. You can also find other options such as spinach or ricotta as well.
The region around Salento is also renowned for their Pecorino di Maglie. This is a sheep milk cheese that is made with a mixture of milk from two consecutive milking, one from dusk and the other from dawn.
And no day is complete in Italy with a traditional local coffee. But here in Lecce, especially on a hot day, you will want to try the “caffé Leccese”. This is a local favorite and is an espresso served over ice with almond milk. And it is delicious! But be careful when ordering because pronounced wrong you may just get a café con leche (a drink from Spain or Latin America) which is simply a “coffee with milk” which is different from a caffé Leccese!
Day trip to Otranto – the eastern most point in Italy
If you are in the Salento region of Italy it means you have made it to the heel of the boot and you don’t want to skip a visit to Otranto. Otranto is a beautiful coastal town and is the easternmost point in Italy! It’s home to the 15th-century Aragonese Castle and 11th-century Otranto Cathedral. You can easily spend a few hours enjoying the charming old town and enjoying the sea breeze off the crystal clear Mediterranean (or Adriatic if you want to be more specific!).
The Otranto Cathedral is like no other in Italy. You will find one of the largest and best-preserved Medieval floor mosaics (called the Tree of Life) in Europe and the ossuary chapel that displays the skulls and bones of the 813 martyrs that died for their faith in 1480.
And while the Otranto Cathedral is a must see, if you walk this little town you will also find the Byzantine Church of St. Peter (San Pietro). This small church boasts some amazing frescos and worth a visit!
Wine tour – Tenuta Corallo Winery
After heading back to Lecce from our visit to Otranto we stopped at Tenuta Corallo Winery. We toured the wine production area and afterward had a really nice wine tasting. One of the things we found really interesting about this vineyard is that due to its proximity to the ocean, they actually rinse their vines during the grape growing period to remove residue from the salt that may have accumulated on the grapes.
This small winery produces wines with the typical vines of the Salento area: Primitivo, Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, Aleatico and Fiano.
The Modern Nomads 
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