Baroque facade
Honey-coloured stone.
FrDr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Benjamin Smith — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · FrDr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sam Wise — CC BY-SA 2.0
Piazza del Duomo is the heart of the old town of Lecce, capital of the province of Lecce in Apulia, southern Italy, on the Salento peninsula at the «heel» of the Italian boot, about 138 km southeast of Bari in a straight line. The city has about 94,000 people. Lecce is nicknamed «the Florence of the South» for its rich Baroque architecture. It is known for «Lecce stone», a soft, easily carved limestone that suits decorative sculpture and is one of the city's main exports. It is also a centre for ceramics and for olive oil and wine production. Pale honey-coloured buildings surround the wide paved square: the cathedral with its ornate Baroque facade, a towering bell tower, the bishop's palace and the seminary. The square is almost closed on one side, so it feels like an open-air hall, and its facades glow gold when lit at night. Visitors wander the Baroque lanes around the square and see the Roman amphitheatre in nearby Piazza Sant'Oronzo. Evening is the best time in the square, and the city makes a good base for the Salento coast.
Honey-coloured stone.
Towering.
Nearby.
Old town, Lecce, Apulia, southern Italy
In the evening.
The Salento coast.