Lecce is sometimes called the Florence of the South. There is an abundance of Baroque architecture. You can buy from the Ti office in Duomo Square a ticket for 6 venues (mainly churches) for 11 euros. If you buy the ticket (which I recommend) be such to download the “Leccecclesiae” app (free) which gives you a wonderful narrative for 4 or 5 of the churches. Listening with your air pods is the best way to listen to it. There is lots to do and abundant good restaurants in Lecce. We spent 3 1/2 days in Lecce, although one of the days was a cooking class, The Awaiting Table. We both thought the class was good. There were 10 other attendees, all Americans. Really, Lecce was the only place we saw many Americans (well, Matera, too)
There are other cooking classes, one at Alle Due Corti, also a good restaurant. Caffe Alvino, just off Piazza Sant’oronzo is a great place to have pasticciotti and cappuccino and people watch in the morning. We had some great dinners, one especially at Signuria where not only the food was great, but the owner was very gracious also. Another good meal was at Osteria Da Angiulina, with lots of locals and typical Puglian food.
We drove to Nardo (about 30 minutes) was lunch on Sunday and that was a fun outing. We also drove to Otranto, about 40 minutes.
By far the best sight in Otranto is the cathedral, Santa Maria Annunziata, consecrated in 1088. Its highlight is a 12th-century Pantaleone mosaic: covering the entire length of the nave, the sanctuary, and the apse, it depicts scenes from the Old Testament and traditional medieval chivalric tales and animals set alongside a Tree of Life. The walls behind the main altar are lined with glass cases containing the skulls and tibias of the 800 martyrs of Otranto, slain by the Ottomans after the seige of 1480 for not renouncing their faith.
DAY 13 THE ROAD HOME
After a short drive to Brindisi, we took a 1 hour ITA flight to FCO in Rome. We spent the night at the Airport Hilton which is a 10 minute covered walk from terminal 3 where we departed the next morning at 7:15. The Hilton is a little costly, but it is all about convenience and the rooms are nice, quiet and dinner was very acceptable.