Lecce, not really the “Firenze del Sud” (Florence of the South)

We departed Pescara around 10:30 a.m., a little later than planned, due to our loquacious B&B host. Paolo, as mentioned in a prior blog post, is a huge Springsteen and rock music fan and we were his captive audience this morning as he regaled us with stories of his experiences at rock concerts he attended. Getting out of Pescara on this humid warm morning was much easier than coming in – taking a route along the lungomare (beachfront), there was nary a rotario (roundabout) encountered and it was smooth sailing to the autostrada.

The road to Lecce followed the Adriatic coast through groves of olive trees and fields of vegetables, with the mountains far off to the west. A rest stop for a panino and a “Cornetto” ( AKA drumstick or ice cream cone) broke up the five hour journey. We circumvented the port cities of Bari and Brindisi and arrived in Lecce around 4:30pm, faithfully using Google maps as our guide. We should have been unfaithful as it is not always correct! Google maps told us that we had reached our destination on the right- WRONG! Thank goodness I was sent instruction- with pictures- on how to find the apartment, as we tried to match up the photo with what Google was telling us. A parking space was found, and we were set.

The apartment is a spacious 3 bedroom in a condominium complex, about 10 minutes walking distance from the historic center. After unloading luggage, we ventured out to explore.

The streets are cobblestone and there is barely room for cars to pass the narrow lanes. Many areas are pedestrian only. The city is the epitome of Baroque, with its over-the-top elaborate limestone facades. The prevalent color of the buildings is a golden yellow, accentuated at sunset. The main square is Piazza Sant’Oronzo, with the remnants of a Roman amphitheater in its center.

Lecce looks nothing like Florence (Firenze)- not a bit of Renaissance influence, no major art museums, no river running through the city, no marble in any of the buildings. Perhaps this was a marketing ploy to draw tourists to the most southern of Italian mainland cities?

The Cafe Alvino, facing the amphitheater, is famous for caffè leccese (caffè al ghiaccio e latte di mandorla), an iced expresso with almond milk, and a pasticciotto, a shortbread crusted tart filled with pastry cream. We tried the pistachio and amarena (cherry) variations.

We then set off for dinner after having our dessert! We stumbled upon Ristorante Blu Notte, a charming place with terrace seating, but as we did not have a reservation, we sat inside on this warm and muggy night. The meal was excellent/ a charcuterie plate, orecchiette pasta with tomatoes, swordfish and eggplant, roasted veggies.