Magic Weekends

Stay at Palazzo Personè in the heart of Lecce's Historic old walled town, from where we will explore the city of Lecce.  Much of the architecture is in the highly decorative Baroque style, which flourished in the 17th century and earned the city the nickname the "Florence of  the South”. Visit the impressive Duomo with it tall bell tower, once the tallest in the land. The crypt of the Duomo has a beautiful hand painted tiled floor and the columns that rise up from it have a different gargoyle character on every column top.  Another impressive Baroque church is the Church of Santa Croce  with it’s amazing rose window. We will visit the famous Piazza Sant'Oronzo  where the statue of San Oronzo, the cities patron saint, looks over the piazza and the magnificent Roman Amphitheatre, from the top of his ancient Roman column. Lecce has many interesting boutique shops, restaurants and cafés in its old town. We can stop for a 'Leccese' an iced coffee with almond milk, a local specialty.  Next we will visit Gallipoli with it's  charming Historic old town on an fortified island . Lunch with us at la Puritate, an excellent seafood restaurant, then we will visit an ancient underground olive press and learn the history of oil production. Take a wander through the back streets of Gallipoli a charming small town. See the fishermen mending their nets and readying their boats to go out for the evenings catch. Lastly visit a local winery and try their award wining organic wines including the regions famous Primitivo, and take a tour of the  winery to learn about the method of production. Enjoy a second day at your leisure with more time for shopping  and cafe hopping,in Lecce.