What to See in Lecce, the Baroque City of Salento

You are about to leave for Lecce, in Puglia and wondering what to see and what you absolutely can’t miss? This is the guide for you. We thought of sharing some curiosities about the Salento city and pointing out the main places of interest it offers. You can clear all doubts about what to visit in Lecce and what to see, also with the Lecce city card.

Visiting Lecce in its entirety takes some time, but if you only have one day, you will still be able to see the main sights by organizing your tour in advance. Let’s start by saying that it is indeed a city rich in works of art from the Roman, medieval, and Renaissance periods, but Lecce is essentially a Baroque city.

1 Duomo Square

From Piazza Sant’Oronzo, following some picturesque alleys, you reach Duomo Square. It is a very large square that features, opposite the only entrance, the Cathedral in Lecce Baroque style. Also present in the square are the Seminary, the Bell Tower, and the Bishop’s Palace. Duomo Square of Lecce is a must-visit stop for anyone wanting to explore the splendid Salento city.

2 Historic Center of Lecce

Historic Center of Lecce: by visiting this part of the city, you will realize how much Baroque art has influenced its architecture. The palaces are boldly decorated, and the Lecce stone stands out, making this area warm and suggestive: the golden hue that characterizes the houses, churches, and monuments stands out from everything else, giving the city atmosphere an almost surreal quality. In Lecce, the historic center is the true heart of the city, and here you will find some of the most important historical, religious, and tourist sites: the Church of Santa Maria della Provvidenza, Palazzo Adorno, Basilica of Santa Croce and Sant’Oronzo Square, the city’s living room where you can also enjoy Lecce’s lively evening life.

3 Charles V Castle in Lecce

The Charles V Castle in Lecce stands near Piazza Sant’Oronzo and is one of Lecce’s symbols. Formerly used as the city’s defensive point, it currently houses the Cultural Department of the Municipality of Lecce. Inside, there are periodically exhibitions, cultural activities, and events. You can visit the fortress also with guided tours that will lead you through the Castle’s rooms and the Papier-mâché Museum. Undoubtedly a site to include in the list “Lecce: places of interest.”

4 Roman Amphitheatre of Lecce and Piazza Sant’Oronzo

The Roman Amphitheatre of Lecce is currently used as a setting for concerts and cultural events. The amphitheatre is the strongest testimony to the Roman influence in the Apulian city. It is one of the sites that must be visited. The amphitheatre is located on the eastern edge of the Roman city and dates back to the Augustan age. The monument has an elliptical plan with the major axis oriented east-west and could hold up to 14,000 spectators. Thanks to excavations carried out, numerous architectural elements in marble and sculptural decorations of the building have been recovered, such as the group of “chalice” capitals and some bas-reliefs with scenes of venationes.

Churches and Places of Worship in Lecce

5 Basilica of Santa Croce

The Basilica of Santa Croce is one of the city’s most important monuments and clearly represents how Baroque art has dominated over the years and influenced the architecture of the Salento city. A visit to this Basilica belongs on the list of “Things to Do in Lecce.”

6 Church of San Francesco della Scarpa

The Church of San Francesco della Scarpa in Lecce was built in the 12th century on land owned by the Guarini family and was then renovated between 1699 and 1714. The absence of a richly decorated external facade, unlike most Lecce churches, earned it the nickname “church without a facade.”

Museums and Art Galleries in Lecce

7 MUSA – Historical Archaeological Museum, Lecce

“The Historical-Archaeological Museum (MUSA) of the University of Salento, inaugurated in June 2007, was created within the Coordinated Plan of the Universities of Catania and Lecce (Initiative IN20) and funded by the Ministry of University and Scientific Research (MIUR) and the European Union under the P.O.N. 1994/1999 and 2000/2006 programs. MUSA was born as an exhibition space aimed at valorization, didactic use, and dissemination of research conducted over several decades by archaeologists and ancient historians of the University of Salento. The exhibition traces the fundamental steps of research developed by the ancient history and archaeology department of the Lecce university and, at the same time, offers an updated panorama of the investigation horizons—from prehistory to the Middle Ages, from Salento to the Mediterranean East—and of the resources currently available in terms of expertise, instrumentation, and laboratory equipment.”

8 Sigismondo Castromediano Provincial Museum

The types of materials preserved in the museum include: numismatic goods; archaeological finds; anthropological finds; demo-ethnoanthropological goods; artworks and objects; drawings; photographs; contemporary art works. The museum is characterized by the diversity of its collections divided into several sections: prehistoric, archaeological, medieval, Baroque, 19th and 20th century Salento. Archaeological collections come from excavations at the end of the 19th century and have been enriched with excavation campaigns funded by the Province of Lecce (Roca, Rudiae, Cavallino, Poggiardo). They allow offering an organic panorama of the Messapian civilization in Salento from the 7th century BC. Purchases, donations, and deposits have enriched their content and classes (Attic, Apulian, local vases, bronzes, terracottas, inscriptions). The historical-artistic sections gave life to an Art Gallery (Venetian polyptychs of the 14th and 15th centuries, Neapolitan painting from the 16th to the 18th century, ceramics, glass, textiles, silverware from the Baroque age) and to the section “Salento Artists between 19th and 20th century.”

9 Roman Theatre Museum, Lecce

“Attached to the theatre, the Roman Theatre Museum of Lecce was set up by the Memmo Foundation in some rooms of the prestigious 17th-century palace owned by the Romano family. The museum, besides containing artifacts from excavations done in the first half of the last century which brought the ancient monument to light, houses an exhibition entitled “Roma. Life on Stage” realized in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome and the Archaeological Superintendence of Puglia, illustrating the theme of scenography and illusionistic representation in the Roman world. The series of nine theatrical masks from Villa Adriana in Tivoli is very scenic. Finally, thanks to a model, it is possible to see the reconstruction of a large urban area of Lupiae (ancient Lecce) during the Roman imperial era.”

10 Children’s Museum of Lecce

The Children’s Museum of Lecce is a “non-museum museum”, set up according to modern museographic educational theories, made up of copies, reconstructions, reproductions of prehistoric objects. A guide character, Mister Caveman, depicted on explanatory panels, narrates through his comics the origin of man and his cultural evolution, contextualizing the displayed objects by placing them on a path reaching the early Iron Age.

Other Museums in Lecce

• Papyrological Museum
• Environment Museum
• Museum of Popular Traditions Abbey of Cerrate
• Chinese Missionary and Natural History Museum
• Franciscan Art Gallery of the Minor Friars of Lecce

11 What to Buy in Lecce

Lecce is a small Eldorado also for artistic crafts, especially paper-mâché work, a poor art rooted in the 17th century. In Via Vittorio Emanuele, several workshops nestle, including that of Claudio Riso, where you can follow the various phases of production and admire works with sacred and profane themes. Next to the Church of Gesù, there is a permanent craft market exhibition, the right place to buy pignatte, the characteristic pottery with the rooster design; while for objects, lamps, and other furnishings in Lecce stone, it’s worth visiting Tracce in Corte dei Romiti and Petra Aurea on the central Via Palmieri.

Lecce in a nutshell: how to get there and where to eat

12 How to Get to Lecce

If you want to reach Lecce by plane, keep in mind that the closest airport to Lecce is Brindisi, about 30 km from the city center, which you can reach by taxi, car rental, or well-organized bus service.

13 What to Eat in Lecce

We highly recommend tasting typical Salento dishes, especially the rustico leccese, made of two puff pastry disks filled with mozzarella, tomato, béchamel, and nutmeg. How could we not mention the puccia, the typical bread, to be enjoyed plain or stuffed. Another traditional dish not to miss during your holiday in Salento is the pasticciotto leccese, to be eaten strictly hot, freshly baked, and paired with a cup of Salento coffee.

14 Where to Eat in Lecce

There are many restaurants in Lecce where you will have the chance to enjoy excellent food. Between visits (the Cathedral and its splendid square enclosed on three sides; the Basilica of S. Croce with its lace-carved facade and the adjacent Government Palace; Sant’Oronzo Square, the heart of city life, with remains of a Roman Amphitheatre… ), it’s very pleasant to mingle with locals and take part in their small daily rituals: a coffee or an aperitif at Caffè Alvino (also a B&B), a historic bar in Piazza Sant’Oronzo opposite the Amphitheatre; a small glass of rosolio with a piece of quince jelly at Bar della Cotognata Lecce near the castle; a full immersion among pasticciotti (shortcrust pastry pockets filled with custard), fruttoni with almond paste, and creamy gelatos at Pasticceria Natale, on Via Trinchese. And a visit to Valentina, on Via Petronelli, popular for taralli with extra virgin olive oil, orecchiette, preserves, and jams.