The day after Easter in Lecce, the Florence of southern Italy

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Lecce (93,395 inhabitants) is a city located in southern Italy in Puglia, in the flat part of the Salento, and capital of the province. And 'the city where most elaborate was the development of the baroque in Lecce stone, a limestone malleable and very suited to working with the chisel. For this reason we speak of Lecce Baroque. For the beauty of its monuments, the city is called the Florence of the South Salentine The capital is famous for the many churches which adorn its center in the central Piazza storico.Situato Sant'Oronzo, it remains the arena, the lower tiers and the external walls.

Built in the second century. AD, the amphitheater was about 102m x 83m and could hold over 25,000 spectators and in later times was buried and overlooked by other buildings. In 1901, however, during the excavations for the construction of the local office of the Bank of Italy, was brought to light thanks to the determination of Cosimo De Giorgi, who regarded the discovery as "an emblem of nobility found by chance rummage among the papers family and does not know that. "

The building, built in stone from Lecce, was mostly covered with white marble, but not always worked well artistically and was enriched with decorations, now preserved at the Museum of Lecce. Inside, the seat height of steps increases as you climb to the highest order to make visible the arena from any point on the cavea. Depending on their importance, the external structures were coated with material more or less noble means coatings plaster or marble. Unfortunately, no one knows precisely the one who did not build the amphitheater, nor the exact age at which it goes back. Nearly all scholars who are interested in this, attach the building to Hadrian in the Augustan period. In 1938, however, during the fitting dell'Anfiteatro, was born with an indication of Trajan, now, however, disappeared. Dell 'Anfiteatro, it was possible to highlight only a portion, due to its extension, which includes Sant'Oronzo Square, the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and some surrounding buildings. Thanks to a decree of the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele III, on a proposal by Bernabei, the Amphitheater was declared Monument Nazionale.Il symbol of Lecce Baroque is the Church of Santa Croce, built straddling two centuries from 1549 to 1695 to designs by G. Riccardi. The brochure is structured in a complex program iconological; stands in the center box the wonderful rose window with a succession of cherubs, leaves and pomegranates. The interior has three naves, with a fine wooden ceiling is a lacunar in the central nave in the transept. Despite the frequency and the elegance of the ornaments, the interior is simple and preserves the print renaissance. Particular attention shall be paid to the altar of St Francis of Paola (1614) by F. A. Zimbalo.Da admired the cathedral, one of the most beautiful in Italy, built the first time in 1144, then in 1230. At the request of the Archbishop of Lecce, Luigi Pappacoda, the dome was completely refurbished in the years between 1659-70 by Giuseppe Zimbalo to whom we owe the adjacent bell tower 70 meters high and divided into 5 floors with windows very slender; ends with an octagonal loggia. Prior to these renovations the area of the cathedral was "closed" because there was an entry wound up, where today there is an entry in the Piazza del Duomo become available after this work.