Lecce is another 2000 year old city with a history going back to the Trojan war. Today it is the second largest city in the area and a major tourist attraction. After our late night we were a little slow getting going. But finally we packed up and headed in late morning.
We found a place to park François and walked to the Duomo which was initially built in the 1150’s and rebuilt in the 1600’s. It was a nice building, and like a lot of the buildings it had a very Rococo facade. Rococo is a style that was popular in the late Renaissance characterized by very intricate and elaborate forms. Lecce is famous for its Rococo buildings.
I am not a big fan of Rococo as it seems a little busy to me. But the skill of the artists and tradesmen responsible for the construction is very impressive.
Lecce was conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, and while there are not a lot of Roman ruins on display there is a very impressive amphitheater below ground level today. It was built in the 2nd century and could seat 25,000 people. It was covered by newer buildings over time which is why it appears to be below ground level now. A large section has been uncovered right in the heart of the city, and a smaller section is visible a hundred yards or so away to give a sense of the size of the original building. It is still used occasionally for special events and religious services.
Having spent a couple of hours walking around Lecce we decided to have a coffee and settled on a cafe on the edge of the tourist zone. As we have traveled around Europe we have noticed a fascination with the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Every where we go there seems to be pictures of her in the more artistic districts of cities. We picked this cafe because it had a picture of her, the coffee was good as was the people watching.
After our coffee we decided to head back to the campground before the crowds got too big. We headed back to the train station parking lot where we had parked François and paid the €3 to bail him out.
Ton’s second favorite thing is to go to grocery stores. As we were driving back we passed one and stopped. Ton was in heaven looking at all of the different fruit, vegetables, cheeses, and cuts of meat. She loves Italy because they have an incredible variety of fresh pasta on sale. We had spent about 40 minutes just poking around when a security guard came by and pantomimed that the store was closing. At this point we were only about 1/2 way thru, so Ton has something else to look forward to.
We headed back to the campground to relax and prepare for another one of Luigi’s family meals.
