STOCK PHOTOGRAPHS of SALENTINE PENINSULA, ITALY

If you travel as far Southeast as you can in Italy to the Salentine peninsula -- deep into the heel of the Italian boot -- you come to the wonderful Puglian gem of Lecce, one of the most important Baroque cities in Italy. Dubbed the "Florence of the South", it is a sophisticated university town and a centre of religious study, the arts and early music (a Baroque Music festival takes place in September). While still functioning as a workaday commercial centre for the surrounding Province, it blends this agreeable mix against a backdrop of dignified, though sometimes crumbling, baroque extravagance. Since it is situated almost as far South you can go... the Adriatic meant that the duomo's tower once even doubled up as lighthouse! The city is surrounded by large expanses of fairly flat countryside covered with olive trees and vines and curious beehive-shaped stone shelters. The very fabric of this landscape provided the famous stone, or pietra ...Baroque splendour that was commissioned by wealthy aristocrats, bourgeoisie, clergy and religious orders.

...Lecce is a busy place and the best way to explore the compact old centre is on foot. As you leave the museum, follow the Viale Francesco Lo Re up to the Porta Biagio set into the ancient city walls rebuilt by Charles V, testament Lecce's role as a seat of royal power in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries . Here you have your first encounter with Lecce Baroque .... Santa Chiara until you reach Piazza Sant' Oronzo, the hub of the old city waterside of Brindisi and was presented to the city of Lecce.

Now it is surmounted by the carved figure of Sant'Oronzo...Roman amphitheatre dating from the first century BC and originally accommodating 20,000 spectators... Santa Maria delle Grazie, faces the column as well as the sixteenth century Sedile, once the town hall, and the chapel of San Marco... incredible detail carved into the soft stone of Santa Croce, Lecce's most celebrated church. ...Baroque facade rejoices in intricately designed balconies, arches, columns and friezes which are alive with carved figures, flowers and animals.

The upper section of the facade housing a wonderful rose window is by Giuseppe Zimbalo who was also responsible for the facade of the seminary next door, as well as several other buildings in Lecce. ...Santa Giovanni Evangelista, Santa Angelo and Chiesa della Provvidenza and, just outside the city walls SS Niccolo e Cataldo, Baroque again, but with twelfth century origins and fine cloisters adjacent to the main church... Sant'Irene with its finely detailed Baroque interior... You may also find yourselves pausing at the smart shops that line this elegant street. Soon, you will reach the beautiful Piazza del Duomo on the left, its entrance framed on either side by the stone figures standing on balconies. The duomo was originally built in the twelfth but was restored in its present form in 1570 by -- you guessed it -- Giuseppe Zimbalo.

Inside there are unusual wooden and papier mache statues as well as several noteworthy paintings and an excellent coffered ceiling... Palazzo Balsamo with a wonderful balcony supported by four figures on either side --restored but still betraying the ravages of the years. A little further on, a right turn down Via Leonardo ...Acaia has a very fine Renaissance gateway into the quiet and attractive fortified town.

From here, the pleasant drive to the coast takes you to San Cataldo, a small seaside resort with a good sandy beach . Further along the coastal route is Roca Vecchia a popular fishing spot with beautiful sea and the crumbled remains of its ancient Messapian site, as well as several dolmen scattered around this area.

© John Heseltine