Italy – Apulia 2004, part 7 (Lecce)
After a fairly good night's sleep, I slowly got ready in the morning and, with a large backpack on, descended from the flat I had rented in the town of Ostuni to the spacious parking lot for tourist coaches, where there is also a stop for the city bus that goes to the train station about 4 km away.
The backpack wasn't heavy at all, especially since I know how to adjust it well and I felt perfectly fine, moving with ease. At one point, I headed to a nearby bar to buy a bus ticket and as I was taking my wallet out of the waist pouch, something fell out and I instinctively bent down to pick it up. At that moment, I felt a rather unpleasant pain in my back and I realised I had caused myself a problem. The backpack was still not heavy to carry, but the pain was present.
What can you do? Nothing, except continue as planned, but with very careful and slow movements.
The city bus arrived, first I got on and a bit further down I got off, waited for the train, and transferred to the city of Lecce in southern Italy.
Here again is the map showing all the places I visited during my trip through the Apulia region in southern Italy in September 2024. By the way, the southern part of Apulia is easy to find on the map – it's the heel of the famous Italian boot.
Upon arriving in Lecce, I didn't have much of a choice, so I adjusted my large backpack on again and set off on foot towards the room I had booked in the city. The room was in a guesthouse in the historic centre and in any case, there was no way to get directly there by any form of transport. Traffic in the old part of the city is quite limited and there is a schedule for when motor vehicles can pass through, and I certainly didn't fit into that schedule.
Although I felt pain in my back the entire time, it wasn't too intense, so I even occasionally stopped and took some pictures with my mobile phone. Lecce, especially its historic centre, is exceptionally beautiful and is often called the "Florence of the South" or the "Baroque Florence," all because of the large number of buildings built in this style. Additionally, the weather was nice, which highlighted the richness of the various details.
Since the path to my room took me very close to the square where the cathedral is located (Piazza del Duomo), I decided to stop there right away and take a few photos with my large backpack on my back and the smaller backpack in front of me.
I continued for a few hundred metres more, passed by a smaller square with a couple of palaces, and then finally arrived at the rented room.
It felt great to take off both my large and small backpacks, and since it was early afternoon, I decided to go for lunch first. I figured everything would be easier after I pleasantly filled my stomach. Luckily, there was a pretty good restaurant near the room I had rented and I must say that the food was quite enjoyable. The wine was great, too.
For the starter, I had cheese dumplings with caciocavallo and 'nduja (a type of spicy pork sausage) on a ricotta mousse. For the main course, I had a "millefeuille" of octopus and purple potatoes with basil drops.
It's fascinating how chefs (or whoever comes up with these recipes) think of such combinations, but I must admit, it was delicious. It might seem like not enough at first glance, but in the end, I was quite pleasantly full.
Although I still felt the pain in my back, it didn’t increase while I was sitting in the restaurant, so I decided to take a leisurely walk around the centre of Lecce. My goal was to reach one of the most important churches in the city and along the way I passed by other interesting places, such as the deep arch from the 17th century called Arco di Prato.
On the other hand, it seemed to me that even parts of the historic centre of Lecce that don't have any special names deserve attention.
Soon enough, I reached my desired destination, which was the Basilica of the Holy Cross, or Santa Croce, the construction of which was completed in 1695.
The church is characterised by an exceptionally ornate façade, so I found it interesting to capture various parts and details of it.
I didn't enter the church, but instead started looking for a store where I could buy a rain jacket. The forecast for the coming days predicted occasional rain and for some unknown reason, I hadn't brought an umbrella or a jacket with me. I thought it would be best to have a rain jacket, but since I didn’t find what I was looking for right away, while my back and right leg were starting to bother me more and more (apparently, that sudden movement in Ostuni did something to my sciatic nerve), I decided to head slowly back to my room. However, I took a bit of a detour to see something else that day, which was the Naples Gate (Porta Napoli), one of the three triumphal arches in the city and also the closest one to my room.
The gate was built in 1548 in honour of Charles V and it stands at the entrance to the historic centre of Lecce.
In its immediate vicinity is the Church of Santa Maria della Porta. This was once a small church outside the city walls, but it was moved (built) here in the middle of the 16th century. Later, it was expanded, while its current shape, which includes an octagonal ground plan, was acquired in the mid-19th century.
Here I definitely had to stop my sightseeing, as I was having major difficulties walking and needed to go back to my room to lie down and rest my leg, back, nerves, and everything else that needed rest.
This condition of mine quickly led me into almost immediate depression. But, there was nothing I could do at that moment except take some medicine I had in my little emergency pharmacy, which I always carry with me when I travel.
However, I soon realised that I wouldn’t have enough water until the next morning, so at some point, I had to go outside and walk to the nearest store in the area that I knew of. I could barely walk. But, loaded with two large bottles of water, I sat down in a café near my room to have a coffee and, in that way, create at least a semblance of normality.
I didn’t stay there long and soon I was back in my room, going into the horizontal position again. Before going to bed, I took another medicine, hoping that things would be better the following day.
And they truly were. Of course, I didn’t miraculously heal and start running, but the pain and the inability or difficulty to walk, which I had experienced the previous afternoon, did not return.
On the other hand, I wasn’t in any rush at all and I did everything very slowly. However, I still had to get that jacket. While studying the map of Lecce and exploring my options, I realised that the easiest option, and even the closest in terms of walking, was to go to the nearby city bus station and take a bus to the suburb, where there was a large shopping mall. I figured that I’d have a wide selection in one place, which was important not only in terms of the style, but also in terms of the size – I’m quite tall and my arms are noticeably longer than average for the South of Italy. If I was going to buy a jacket, it only made sense if I found one that truly fits me.
I’m sharing this to show that travel isn’t always rosy, easy and fun. There’s always a possibility of unpleasant, and certainly unplanned, things happening. Depending on the problem, it’s important to assess what we can realistically do and then act accordingly.
So, when I left the room, carefully moving all the while, I first passed by the Church of Santa Maria della Porta again, where I stopped for a moment, and the Naples Gate, and then I moved out of the historic centre. This was ideal because nearby there was the city bus stop I needed.
I could even take a quick look at some parts of Lecce from that bus and at one roundabout, I noticed a sculpture called "Germination", which stands 9 m tall.
All in all, a little later, I returned to the city centre with a new jacket, ready to face the rain. To start with, I passed by the Naples Gate again and took a photo from a better angle than the previous day.
Since the rain still hadn’t started, I took my new jacket back to the room and then, very slowly and carefully, paying attention to every change in my body, I set off for a walk around the city centre.
My impressions of Lecce were extremely positive and I really regretted not being able to relax more. However, considering my condition, I was ultimately quite pleased and I think I managed to see a large part of the city's landmarks.
So, once again I went to the square where the Cathedral is, which is appropriately called Piazza del Duomo.
One can truly enjoy the beautiful Baroque buildings here. The bell tower, which is 70 m tall, and the cathedral itself stand out in particular.
There is also the Bishop's Palace and the Seminary, although I didn’t take any pictures of the Bishop's Palace at this time. My plan was to return here in the afternoon, as the tourist train departed from that location, and I thought it would be an easier way for me to explore Lecce without overexerting my body.
Since the historic centre of Lecce isn't actually very large, I started a leisurely walk and passed by the museum that houses the Roman theatre, or rather, its remains. My intention was to limit my visit to just the exterior, so I didn’t enter, but along the way, I was able to see visually attractive, though not overly significant, places.
That is how I arrived at a square with a park and around it were numerous restaurants. I realised that this was a good sign and that I should sit down and eat. After all, it was already afternoon, and I needed to make sure I didn’t miss lunch.
I entered one of the restaurants and, once again, I was happy with my choice. For the starter, I had bruschetta with spiced cooked octopus and broad bean cream, while my main dish was one of my favourites – spaghetti with clams.
From the spot where I was sitting, enjoying my food (and wine), I could see a very beautiful building – the Church of Santa Chiara that which was originally built in the first half of the 15th century, but was rebuilt in 1687.
The church was beautiful from another angle as well, which I was able to capture after I finished my lunch.
A little further away there was another church with an exceptionally beautiful façade – the Church of San Matteo, built in 1667.
There is a local legend associated with this church, specifically with the columns on its façade, where it is evident that the right column is only partially decorated at the bottom, while the left one is untouched. The legend says that this happened because a jealous devil killed the sculptor before he could finish his work. It’s an interesting story, for sure, but what particularly delighted me here was the shell in the centre of the decoration, as I know it symbolises St. James the Apostle and his pilgrimage route. The Way of St. James is certainly one of my most memorable experiences, not just from my travels, but in life. Anyone interested can read about my pilgrimage, starting with Part 1: https://www.svudapodji.com/en/spain-1/.
As I have mentioned several times, aside from some buildings that are particularly significant, many others stand out because of their beauty or the beauty of their details. Therefore, a leisurely walk, even without any specific information, can still be a very pleasant experience here.
I thus arrived at the spacious square – Piazza Sant'Oronzo.
Almost in the very centre of the square stands a high column topped by the statue of Saint Orontius, who is the patron saint of Lecce. One part of the square was fenced off during my visit, and therefore inaccessible, due to some ongoing construction work. However, I was especially glad that I had bought that rain jacket, given the dark clouds that were slowly starting to cover the sky.
At the northwest end of the square, there is also the Carafa Palace (Palazzo Carafa), which was built in the 18th century on the site of an earlier monastery, during the urban renovation of Lecce.
The building underwent certain alterations in the early 20th century and today serves as the seat of the municipality of Lecce. Maybe it is even more beautiful and interesting from Via Rubichi, where, in addition to the beautiful façade of the Carafa Palace, one can also see the remains of the ancient Roman street within the same street.
Namely, Lecce is indeed a very old city (the first settlement in this part of present-day Italy dates back to the 8th-7th century BCE), which developed quite well during the time of Ancient Rome, especially in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. This is evidenced by the aforementioned Roman Theatre and the Roman Amphitheatre, about which I will write more later on. But, in addition to these, more recently, during works on the reconstruction of a modern street, a piece of the ancient Roman paved road was discovered and it has now been displayed so that everyone can see it.
Not far from here is the Church of Santa Croce with its beautiful façade, so I went to that side again.
The reason, however, wasn’t the church itself, but the building next to it, which, during my visit in September 2024, was covered, clearly due to some renovation work.
It is a former monastery (Palazzo dei Celestini), while the building was constructed between 1549 and 1695. What stands out, in particular, is its inner courtyard.
After passing through the courtyard, I exited from the other side, and there, across the street, was a large park. However, I wasn’t interested in going there and walking, so I just took a photo (which turned out a bit blurry).
Instead, I returned through the Palazzo dei Celestini and then continued my walk through the historic centre of Lecce.