Lecce

Lecce is perfect if you want to be close to the seaside but still going sightseeing and exploring italian history.

History and legend cohabit in Lecce’s origins that date back before the Trojan war. Conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century B.C., Lecce was then briefly ruled by the Greek, then sacked by the Ostrogoths. In 549 it became part of the Eastern Roman Empire and remained under Roman rule for five centuries.

Today you can visit the 25,000-seat Roman amphitheatre and other ruins from this period.
Over the centuries, walls and castles were built around the city, but It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that Lecce began to expand beyond the city walls.

Today Lecce, the “Pearl of Salento”, is characterized by her own unique architectural Baroque style, called Leccese in Italian, which is described as a style of “richness and exuberance whose decorations seem to want to hide the buildings rather than decorate them.”