Italy (Puglia): Lecce

 This morning was our last one in Santa Maria al Bagno.  I went for a morning walk along the small cove to take in the lovely view one more time before we packed up the car and headed north for the Baroque city of Lecce, nicknamed "The Florence of Puglia".  No offense to Florence but Lecce is pretty enough all on its own.  There are gorgeous cathedrals and churches around every corner!  It doesn't have the high street fashion stores but there are a lot of artisans and smaller local brands.  Add to that a handful of ancient Roman ruins and a busy old town surrounded by lush parks.

I hope we get to visit this cove again someday...

Upon entering the old city we came upon Basilica di Santa Croce (17th century).  The exterior truly is a feast for the eyes:

A few twists and turns later we entered a large square where an old roman amphitheater sits unearthed.  It was discovered in 1901 by construction workers and then half-excavated in the 1930s.  The other half is still under the street because, well, oops.

 

 

You have to really search for it (thanks, other internet travel bloggers) but tucked away in a neighborhood is a roman theater.

One of the largest points of interest is Piazza del Duomo, the location of Lecce's main cathedral, a seminary, and bishop's residence.

The impressive northern facade, crowned with at statue of Saint Orontius

Gate of Saint Blaise (Biagio), one of the many beautiful entrances into the old town

No, I'm not falling over in awe, though it is another very pretty church.
We were trying to capture the whole building in this narrow intersection of buildings and streets

We haven't talked about pasticchiotto!  These wonderful custard-filled pastries are THE traditional Puglia treat and one of the bakeries in Lecce, Natale, has a cult following.  They were molto delizioso.

The only museum we went into was a very unusual but recommended experience.  In a four-story stone row home what was once a family residence is now a wonderful exploration of how centuries-old structures can contain many long lost secrets (all because they had to check out a leaky pipe back in 2001!)

Check out the museum website for more information, linked here.  It's fascinating!

 

When we were ready for a break we ate lunch at the very quirky Dall'Antiquario and our server was both an excellent host and entertainer.  He had a waxed old-timey mustache but dressed like Jimmy Buffett (RIP).

Next it was time to drive further north to our next and final hotel, Masseria Cervarolo.  It is in one of the many former fortified farms that are all over the Puglia peninsula.  More on that subject in another post.

Today the property is a lovely collection of rooms in converted farm buildings.  There are outdoor and indoor dining rooms, a beautiful pool, and lovely seating areas within natural landscaping.  For this night we opted to have dinner on-site and we had a very lovely local wine recommended to us by our server.