Otranto
Mosaics, skulls, crypts and biblical-meets-tropical imagery: Otranto's cathedral is like no other in Italy. It was built by the Normans in the 11th…
Must-see attractions in Salento
Lecce
It seems that hallucinating stonemasons have been at work on the basilica. Sheep, dodos, cherubs and beasties writhe across the facade, a swirling…
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Lecce
Descend through Lecce's rich historical strata in this fascinating home-turned-museum, where sewerage excavations led to the chance discovery of an…
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Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Taranto
Taranto
Sitting unassumingly in a side street in Taranto's new town is one of Italy's most important archaeological museums, chiefly dedicated to the archaeology…
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Tempio di San Giovanni al Sepolcro
Brindisi
This 12th-century church, a brown bulk of Norman stone conforming to the circular plan the Templars so loved, is a wonderfully evocative structure,…
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Basilica di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria
Salento
Most people come to Galatina to see the incredible 14th-century Basilica di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria. Its interior is a kaleidoscope of frescoes and…
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Lecce
Giuseppe Zimbalo's 1659 reconstruction of Lecce's original 12th-century cathedral is recognised as being among his finest work. Zimbalo, Lecce's famous…
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Lecce
This fascinating museum outlines the Jewish history of Lecce and the greater Salento region. Entry is by 30-minute guided tour only, running every 45…
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Salento
An aperture on the Ionian coast below Castro leads into the magnificent stalactite-festooned Cave of Zinzulusa, one of the most significant coastal…
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Chiesa dei Santi Nicolò e Cataldo
Lecce
The beautiful church of Saints Nicolò and Cataldo, located in the monumental cemetery outside the city walls, was built by the Normans in 1180. It got…
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Lecce
The beautifully restored 15th-century Monastery of Santa Chiara houses this civic museum and gallery, and has a great view of the Roman theatre from the…
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Lecce
A notable 15th-century church given a baroque makeover between 1687 and 1691, Santa Chiara is one of the most important and admired churches in Lecce…
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Taranto
The 11th-century cathedral is one of Puglia's oldest Romanesque buildings and an extravagant treat. It's dedicated to San Cataldo, an Irish monk who lived…
Lecce
Piazza del Duomo is a baroque feast, the city's focal point and a sudden open space amid the surrounding enclosed lanes. During times of invasion the…
Museo Archeologico Provinciale Ribezzo
Brindisi
This superb museum covers several floors with well-documented exhibits (in English), including some 3000 bronze sculptures and fragments in Hellenistic…
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Salento
Primarily the work of the Aragonese who ruled southern Italy in the 16th century, this sturdy redoubt retains elements built by the Angevins in previous…
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Otranto
Dubbed L’Approdo (The Landing) and located in Otranto's new port area, this striking installation by the Greek artist Costas Varostos was erected in 2012…
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Lecce
While the Normans built the original castle in the 12th century, it became associated with the Spanish Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who enlarged it…
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Lecce
Below the ground level of the piazza is this restored 2nd-century-AD amphitheatre, discovered in 1901 by construction workers. It was excavated in the…
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Otranto
Built in the late 15th century, when Otranto was more populous and important than today, and not long after the Ottoman raid that resulted in the…
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Taranto
Guarding the swing bridge that joins the old and new parts of town, this impressive 15th-century structure, built on Norman and Byzantine predecessors,…
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Museo Provinciale Sigismondo Castromediano
Lecce
This museum stylishly covers 10,000 years of history, from Palaeolithic and Neolithic bits and bobs to a handsome display of Greek and Roman jewels,…
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Brindisi
The gleaming white column above a sweeping set of sun-whitened stairs leading to the waterfront promenade marks the terminus of the Roman Via Appia at…
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Lecce
Known by the locals as Santa Maria della Luce, this graceful little church bears the fingerprints of Giuseppe Zimbalo, as much of baroque Lecce does. The…
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Lecce
Also known as the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista (Church of John the Baptist), this elaborately fronted church was prodigious Leccese architect Giuseppe…
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Gallipoli
On the island, Gallipoli's 17th-century cathedral is a baroque beauty that could compete with anything in Lecce. Not surprisingly, Giuseppe Zimbalo, who…
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Otranto
The origins of this cross-shaped Byzantine church are uncertain, but some think they may be as remote as the 5th century. The present structure seems to…
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Gallipoli
This is only one of some 35 olive presses buried in the tufa rock below the town. It was here, between the 16th and early 19th centuries, that local…
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Lecce
Dedicated to Lecce's former patron saint and modelled on Rome's Basilica di Sant'Andrea della Valle, this church was completed in 1639. Inside you'll find…
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Lecce
Facing Lecce's cathedral is the arched arcade loggia of the 15th-century Palazzo Vescovile, one-time residence of Neapolitan royalty and one of Lecce's…
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Brindisi
This 16th-century Renaissance-style palace is named for the two different families who owned it. The building is of interest because it houses the huge…
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Brindisi
After the Romans, the next big event to hit Brindisi was the Crusades during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Porta dei Cavalieri Templari, an exotic…
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Lecce
Two Roman columns once marked the end of the Appian Way in Brindisi. When one of them crumbled in 1582 some of the pieces were rescued and subsequently…
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Brindisi
This 12th-century cathedral was substantially remodelled after an earthquake in 1743. You can see how the original Romanesque structure may have looked by…
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Lecce
This 18th-century seminary, designed by famous Leccese architect and sculptor Giuseppe Cino, today houses a library of old books and a museum dedicated to…
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Lecce
The main city gate, Porta Napoli, was erected in 1548 in anticipation of a state visit from Charles V. It's a typically bombastic effort by Gian dell…
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Lecce
Exhibiting artefacts revealed during the excavation of the adjacent Roman theatre, this museum also has displays recreating classical Roman life,…
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Taranto
This 6th-century BC Doric temple is one of the few visible remains of the once-great Greek colony of Taras. The last two surviving columns and the…
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Gallipoli
Founded in 1878, this dusty museum of history and natural history is a 19th-century time capsule, featuring fish heads, ancient sculptures, a 3rd-century…
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Taranto
The gigantic rust-red 1930s Palazzo del Governo, inaugurated by Mussolini, is a forbidding and masculine structure, expressive of the fascist ideas of…
