Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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.
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
tarant-
ismi,
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 hum-
dinger affair.
CHURCH
Basilica di Santa Croce
( 0832 24 19 57;
www.basilicasantacroce.eu
; Via Umberto I; 9am-noon & 5-8pm)
It seems that hallu-
cinating stonemasons have been at work on the basilica. Sheep, dodos, cherubs and beast-
ies 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 build-
ing 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
GOOGLE MAP
, the local gov-
ernment headquarters.
Piazza del Duomo
MAP
PIAZZA
GOOGLE MAP
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-
balo's finest works - he was also responsible for the 68m-high bell tower. The cathedral is
unusual in that it has two facades, one on the western end and the other, more ornate, fa-
