Lecce

Lecce
Comune
Comune di Lecce
Location of Lecce
Coordinates: 40°21′N 18°10′E
Country	Italy
Region	Puglia
Province	Lecce (LE)
Government
• Mayor	Adriana Poli Bortone (since May 25, 2003)
Area
• Total	241 km2 (93 sq mi)
Population  (December 31, 2004)
• Total	95,441
Demonym	Leccesi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	73100
Dialing code	0832
Patron saint	Saint Oronzo, San Just, Saint Fortunatus
Saint day	august 26
Website	www.comune.lecce.it

This is about the Italian city of Lecce. For the football club, see U.S. Lecce.

Lecce is a city situated in the south of Italy, in the region of Apulia. It is the capital of the province with the same name.

Lecce is called "La Firenze del Sud" (The Florence of South) because of the quantity of important baroque monuments found there. The area where Lecce is located, is called Salento, another important nearby town being Otranto.

An aerial view of Lecce in 2005.

The so-called "Lecce stone" is the city's main export. It is very soft and malleable, making it a renowned tool for sculpture.

History

According to the legend, a city called Sybar existed at the times of the War of Troy, founded by the Messapii Italic tribe. Later it was occupied by the Iapyges and conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BCE, receiving the new name of Lupiae.

Under the emperor Hadrian (2nd century AD) the city was moved 3 km to NE, taking the name of Licea or Litium. Lecce received a theater, an amphitheater and connected to the Hadrian Port (the current San Cataldo).

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Lecce was involved in the Gothic Wars, during which it was sacked by the Ostrogoth king Totila. After the Byzantine definitive conquest of 549, it remained part of the Eastern Empire for five centuries, with momentary rules and conquests by Saracens, Lombards, Hungarians and Slavs.

After the Norman conquest in the 11th century, Lecce regained commercial importance, continuing to flourish in the subsequent Hohenstaufen and Angevine dominations. The County of Lecce was a fief of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1053-1463, when it was annexed directly to the crown. From the 15th century onwards Lecce increased its status of one of the most important cities of southern Italy, and, starting from 1630, it was enriched with precious Baroque monuments. The main danger were the Ottoman invasion, for which a new line of walls and a castle were built by King Charles V in the first part of the 16th century.

In 1656 a plague broke out in the city, killing thousand of its inhabitants.

In 1943, fighter aircraft based in Lecce helped support isolated Italian garrisons in the Aegean Sea fighting Germans during World War 2. Unfortunately they were delayed by the Allies, so it was too little too late.

Santa Croce's Basilica in Lecce.

The amphitheater of Lecce.

Detail of the Cathedral's façade.

Main sights

Lecce is known for its important Baroque monuments.

Churches and religious buildings

• The most important is the Church of the Holy Cross (Chiesa di Santa Croce). It was begun in 1353, but works were soon halted until 1549, to be completed only in 1695. The church has a richly decorated façade with animals, grotesque figures and vegetables, and has a large rose window. Next to the church if the Government Palace, a former convent.
• The Duomo (cathedral) is also one of the most important in Italy. It was originally built in 1144, and again in 1230. It was however totally restored in the years 1659-70 by Giuseppe Zimbalo, also designer of the 70 m-high bell tower. The latter has five floors and end with an octagonal loggia.
• The church of San Niccolò and Cataldo is an example of Italo-Norman architecture. It was founded by King Tancred in 1180. In 1716 the façade was rebuilt, with the addition of numerous statues, but mantained the fine original portal. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with ogival arcades and a dome in the centre of the nave. The frescoes on the walls are from the 15th-17th centuries.
• The Celestines' Convent (1549-1695), ewith Baroque decorations by Giuseppe Zimbalo. The courtyard was designed by Gabriele Riccardi.
• The church of the Theatines (St. Irene, built from 1591)
• Santa Maria degli Angeli
• Santa Chiara (1429-1438), rebuilt in 1687

Other buildings

• The Roman Amphitheatre, built in the 2nd century and situated near Sant'Oronzo Square, deserves to be mentioned as well. In its time, the amphitheatre was able to host more than 25,000 people. It is now half-buried because other important monuments were built above it over the centuries.
• The column that holds the statue of Saint Oronzo (Lecce's patron) was given to Lecce by the city of Brindisi, it was given as a gift because Saint Oronzo cured the plague in this city. The column is important as it was one of a pair that marked the end of the Appian Way, the main road connection Rome to southern Italy.
• The Sedile is a large building built in 1592 and used a set of the local council until 1852.
• The Castle of Charles V was built in 1539-49 by Gian Giacomo dell'Acaja. It has a trapezoidal plan with angular bastions. It is annexed to the Politeama Greco Opera House, inaugurated on November 15, 1884.

Sport

Lecce is also home to Serie B football club U.S. Lecce.

Notable people

• Franco Causio (born 1949), footballer
• Ennio de Giorgi (1928-1996), mathematician
• Cloe Elmo (1910-1962), opera singer
• Marco Materazzi (born 1973), footballer
• Tito Schipa (1888-1965), tenor

Twin cities

• Murcia, Spain
• Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland
• Melbourne?, Australia

External links

• Photos of Lecce