Lecce, walk in the shadow of the baroque: here's what you'll see ⋆ BE BOHEME

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Lecce is a canister. we have no different words to describe a city as delicious as the capital of Salento. Ordered, clean and laughing with the colorful pottery, flower pots and lanterns that illuminate the little restaurants of the center.

The heart of Lecce is an open-air treasure, its beauties are concentrated within walking distance of each other. It starts from the famous Piazza Sant’Oronzo,a square that by day is flooded with light and in the evening an open-air stage for street artists. In the center of the square the statue of St. Oronzo,patron protector of Lecce and immediately after to kidnap the view is the seat palace,construction of 1500,home of the infopoint.

The beauty of the square is given by the difference of styles that coexist harmoniously… every monument, belonging to a different era and it goes perfectly with others: as the seat building also the Baroque church of St. Mary of the Graces dates back to the 1500s, while the famous INA building is a typical building of the fascist era and the beautiful amphitheatror dates back to the Augustea age. walking through this square means taking a real journey through the history of art and our nation. Under the arcades, the same shops, bars and restaurants do not seem to break this harmony that the city has acquired over time and the streets that wind from the square are beautiful views to photograph.

In the distance you can already see the church of Santa Irene and the go-go of tourists on the stairs coming in and out of this little gem of Baroque architecture. Designed by Grimaldi, the same architect of the church of St. Andrew of the Valley in Rome is the first example of the prized and sought after Lecce Baroque both inside and outside. We also return in the evening in the shade of the baroque church of Santa Irene for dinner in a restaurant that has used a small courtyard with an outdoor room and the result is really evocative and romantic.

Continuing to walk through the streets of the center, occasionally raising our heads to observe the beautiful balconies, we easily arrive at Piazza Duomo. The square is immense and packed with tourists. The beautiful bell tower stands high in a sky that gradually fills with clouds.

We enter and find ourselves in the aisle: on the ground the rampant lion, coat of arms ofArchbishop Luigi Pappacoda (the one who was in charge of the renovation of the Cathedral), above our head richly decorated ceilings and all around us beautiful altars whose Neapolitan style merges with the leccese.

Near the main altar are the two largest altars: thealtar dedicated to St. Oronzo,built in 1672 by Giuseppe Zimbalo and Giovann’Andrea Larducci from Salò and thealtar named after the Immaculate with the wooden statue of the Assumption and the busts of the Doctors of the Church.

In the same large and bright square are placed two other important buildings: the seminary and the episcope. The streets of the center of Lecce are oversized with colorful flowers and flooded with the scent of Puccia. Outside the souvenir shops, homemade pasta packs, Bottles of Negramaro and colorful magnets. It is not easy to choose the restaurant, they are all cute, with lanterns on, the lights colored or tables made from old barrels, in short.