Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Lecce has more than 40 churches and at least as many
palazzi,
all built or renovated
between the 17th and 18th centuries, giving the city an extraordinary cohesion. Two of the
main proponents of
barocco leccese
(Lecce baroque - the craziest, most lavish decoration
imaginable) were brothers Antonio and Giuseppe Zimbalo, who both had a hand in the
fantastical Basilica di Santa Croce.
Basilica di Santa Croce
( 0832 24 19 57;
www.basilicasantacroce.eu
;
Via Umberto I; 9am-noon & 5-8pm)
It seems that
hallucinating stonemasons have been at work on the basilica. Sheep, dodos, cherubs and
beasties writhe across the facade, a swirling magnificent allegorical feast. Throughout the
16th and 17th centuries, a team of artists under Giuseppe Zimbalo laboured to work the
building up to this pitch. Look for Zimbalo's profile on the facade.
The interior is more conventionally Renaissance and deserves a look, once you've fin-
ished gazing outside. Zimbalo also left his mark in the former Convento dei Celestini, just
local government headquarters.
CHURCH
SPIDER MUSIC
In August one of Salento's biggest festivals is a frenzied night of
pizzica
dancing at
La Notte della
Taranta
(
www.lanottedellataranta.it
) in Melpignano, about 30km south of Lecce.
Pizzica
developed
from the ritual
tarantismi,
a dance meant to rid the body of tarantula-bite poison. It's more likely the
hysterical dancing was symbolic of a deeper societal psychosis and an outlet for individuals living in
bleak, repressed conditions to express their pent-up desires, hopes and unresolved grief. Nowadays,
pizzica
(which can be quite a sensual dance) means 'party', with all-night dances held in various
Salento towns throughout summer, leading up to Melpignano's humdinger affair.
PIAZZA
Piazza del Duomo
A baroque feast, Piazza del Duomo is the city's focal point and a sudden open space amid
the surrounding enclosed lanes. During times of invasion the inhabitants of Lecce would
barricade themselves in the square, which has conveniently narrow entrances. The 12th-
8.30am-12.30pm & 4-6.30pm)
is one of Gi-
