B&B Corte Barocca

Lecce is a city in Italy renowned for its Baroque architecture. It features charming squares, magnificent palaces, stunning churches, and roads marked by "corner columns" and ornate balconies. The city's buildings are covered in a rare, beautiful stone called "pietra leccese" which is easy to work with and perfectly captures the 17th century's taste for wonder. The stone's brilliance, especially when contrasted with the intense blue sky in the summer sun, is enchanting. Lecce is considered a place suspended in time, between the past and the present, that has attracted travelers from far-off corners of Europe. Piazza Sant'Oronzo, the city's center, is surrounded by narrow, winding streets that are still charming to this day. The old walls from the 16th century, with the gates of San Biagio to the southeast, Rudiae to the west, and Napoli to the northwest, encircle the historic district. Just a short walk from the main square stands the magnificent Church of Santa Croce and the adjacent Celestini Monastery, the supreme form of Baroque architecture, a stunning wonder and glorious symbol of Lecce's "gold. " Although Santa Croce is not the Cathedral, which is located in the central Piazza Cathedral, it surpasses it in the splendor of its decorations and the impressiveness of its volumes. In the old town, one can also admire several religious buildings such as the Church of San Giovanni Battista (known as the "Rosary Church"), the Church of Sant'Anna, the Church of Santa Teresa, and the even more famous churches of Sant'Irene, Santa Chiara, and Santa Maria delle Grazie. The city's strategic location, only a few kilometers from the Adriatic and Ionian coasts, adds to its architectural splendor and its old, noble "palazzotti leccesi. " From Lecce, one can easily reach the most charming beach and tourist destinations in Salento in less than an hour, such as Otranto, the culture of Grecìa Salentina, Santa Maria di Leuca, and the beautiful waters of Gallipoli.