Flanêuring in Lecce

Monday October 25 turned out to be a beautiful day in Lecce- sunny with blue skies for most of the day and a high of 23C.  The weather apps have been way off--- I didn't even need my leather jacket the entire day.

We decided to wander and follow an itinerary in the map we obtained at the Tourist Office.

Passing through the Public Gardens about two minutes from our apartment

The magnificent Piazza St. Croce with the Basilica- another creation by the architect Zimbalo

We went down Via Umberto I and found the Southeast Cafe in a lovely corner spot.  We decided to finally order a Cafeè Leccese, coffee made with ice and almond syrup.  Perfect on a warm day.

Looking down the street


Alonso and the caffè Lecesse - we also had Friselline- tomatoes on pieces of a hard bread with excellent olive oil

Very nice spot

We continued our walk and passed a school where is looked like parents were picking up their kids.  Very busy scene.
Outside the Scuola Elementare-e de Amicis

Kids were wearing a great blue outfit

Chiesa e Monastero di S. Giovanni Evangelista XII-XX  centuries


More decoration

It is just wonderful to wander in Lecce 

Lots of detail


We stopped at Palazzo Adorno, an historic building built in the second half of the 16th century, which has been owned by the Province of Lecce since 1952.


Entrance to a courtyard

Stairway

Art installation in courtyard called La Luce.  The bust near the wall is Aldo Moro (1916-78) .

Chiesa di Santa Chiara is so imposing- 

We stumbled on the ruins of the Teatro Romano, hidden in the middle of a number of very narrow streets.  It dates back to the 2nd century and once seated 4000 people.  It was only rediscovered in 1929.

The Roman Theatre

Another view

More baroque


We found the Biblioteca Provinciale Nicola Bernardini built in 1863.

A very large building


There was a small camera crew filming a dancer between the pillars. We watched for a few minutes.  
 
Dancer being filmed

Another attractive building

We passed by Museo Archeologico Provinciale S. Castromediano, a museum that was being used as a vaccine clinic.  Quiet day at the clinic.


A beautiful mansion 

Piazza D'Italia

Porta San Biagio - another Baroque beauty built tin 1774

We saw a sign for a very upscale Boutique Hotel called Pollicastro located in the old Palazzo dei Perroni dating back to 1508.
 An alluring arch


Just inside the arch

Fabulous jazz wire sculpture

Peering inside--we keep running into fabulous vaulted ceilings  


Heads on the wall

We then saw Chiesa di San Matteo.  It was built in 1667 and has a lovely curved design with beautiful sculpture work and statues.
Very intricate



Palazzo Carafa (Gia Monastero Delle Paolotte) 19-20th century

More baroque by night

We went to Osteria Degli Spiriti, a restaurant recommended by our host, my favourite Lecce blog and  others.  Only a ten minute walk from our apartment.

Signage outside restaurant

It was a very elegant restaurant with a small, focused menu and very reasonable prices.  A number of typical Leccese dishes and some others.  We had an 8:00 p.m. reservation.  We showed our vaccination status info and had our temperature taken. The tables are socially distanced with a small bottle of hand sanitizer on every table.  All very well done and the start of a lovely experience.

Inside of resto-- high vaulted ceilings typical of an old farmhouse

Bar area--- by the time we left, the restaurant was almost full

We were going to split the restaurant's special antipasti plate, but the waiter said it had a number of items with cheese. We thought we had changed the antipasti order to a Leccese caponata.  The waiter must have misunderstood and brought Alonso the antipasti plate and me the caponata!

Go with the flow--- some fabulous flavours- Alonso ate it all


The caponata was superb-- it was definitely a portion that we could have easily shared


The pastas were superb.  I had a mix of orecchiette and another pasta with small meatballs in a delicious tomato sauce with pecorino cheese (a local special).   A very large portion.


We also had a lovely glass of Negroamaro, a lovely Pugliese wine


Alonso had oricchiette with olives, tomatoes, almond and a local cheese.

Wow!

The food was excellent, but we really were overly full by the end of the meal.  However, it was a lovely way to end our last day in Lecce.  On Tuesday, we head to Bari for the last leg of our trip.   

Lecce is a most beautiful city.  One can wander down the narrow streets and run into amazing history and fantastic architecture.  Lecce also has more than 40 churches and at least as many noble palazzi that were built or renovated there between the middle of the 17th century and the end of the 18th.  Baroque par excellence!  Definitely, a must visit on anyone's Puglia itinerary!


 





Comments

  1. MMCOctober 26, 2021 at 1:28 PM

    Beautiful city! I feel full just looking at the dinner photos :) Myrna

    ReplyDelete
  2. ShirleyOctober 27, 2021 at 5:53 AM

    The food on this trip looks amazing. Hope all your walking is keeping the weight gods at bay.

    ReplyDelete

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