Lecce

Lecce's Baroque centre fits into one walk, from the square with the Roman amphitheatre to Santa Croce. Allow: 1–2; 3–4 as a base. After the centre the town works as a base for the beaches and small towns of Salento.

The walk starts on Piazza Sant'Oronzo, where a Roman amphitheatre of the second century sits in the middle of the square, partly buried and open to view from the street at any time. From there it is on to the Castle of Charles V, built between 1539 and 1549 by Gian Giacomo dell'Acaja. The Porta Napoli, a triumphal arch of 1548 raised in honour of the same emperor, is one of the three main entrances to the old town.

Then it is back into the narrow streets. The church of Santa Chiara was built from 1429 to 1438 and rebuilt in 1687, and its entry falls under the shared ticket for the churches. The Faggiano Museum is a private house where, during repairs, finds spanning more than two thousand years came to light, from the Messapians of the fifth century BC to the Renaissance; it has been a museum since 2008. From there it is a short walk to Piazza Duomo, where the cathedral was first raised in 1144 and completely remodelled between 1659 and 1670 to the plans of Giuseppe Zimbalo, who also designed its bell tower.

The walk ends at Santa Croce. Building began in 1353, stopped, resumed only in 1549 and was finished in 1695, and the facade is crowded with animals, grotesque figures and a large rose window. All of it is carved in the limestone that is quarried and exported from Lecce, which is why the town is also called the Florence of the South. For the farther beaches and towns Lecce stays the base: Otranto, Gallipoli and the coast are on the page about day trips, and the month to come on the page about the season. Arrival is through Brindisi airport, since Lecce has no airport of its own.