Lecce (pronounced "LEH-cheh") is an ancient port city on trade routes between the Ottoman Empire and pretty much everywhere else. So of course it has a very long history! We had the non-delight of visiting it under a rather heavy downpour, so it wasn't worth taking a lot of photos. It seems that in Lecce, you either get to see a little of ancient Rome (in the form of a theatre and some stretches of pavement) or a lot of Baroque. There didn't seem to be much in between.
In my view, a little Baroque goes a long way. Beautiful craftsmanship, stunning colors, but...very stimulating from the visual standpoint, without a doubt.
Having exhausted our available time there, it was time to move to Otranto. Otranto is famous for a raid by the Turks, wherein 800 of the town's boys were slaughtered wholesale. It's a delightful, though small, town, and I was fascinated by the "torre matta" ("crazy tower") where the original 15th-century rounded ramparts were later enclosed in 16th-century rectangular fortifications.
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| This looked like a ball of fur with five heads: cat hydra! |
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| View into the port area |
And then it was a race to get to the furthest point on the heel before sunset. Although sunset won, it was a lovely overlook. Apparently, the line where the Ionian and Adriatic Seas meet is actually visible due to a slightly different water composition and the wave ridges that meet in a distinct pattern; of course, this takes bright light, which obviously wasn't available during our time there.
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| Iconic lighthouse, second most important in Italy |
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| The port area below |
Tired, hungry, but satisfied, we returned to the hotel for a late dinner.
Love,
Alexandra
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