We were taken to the Patria Palace Hotel, a 5-star hotel in the middle of the historic district. Wow! The rooms have frescos painted into the plaster on the walls. Mine was a seascape - which I forgot to photograph.
It was getting near 1 pm - the start of the siesta when all shops, etc., close down for three hours. I took a nap. When I woke up, I decided it was time to go exploring.
Baroque
Lecce is very much a Baroque city. Baroque is type of artistic expression that started in Rome in the 1600s, and spread throughout Europe. It has large sweeping movements, emotional elements and bigger than life aspects to it. A piece of Baroque music we are all familiar with is Pachelbel's Cannon in D Major. Trust me, you have all heard this piece of music, even if you don't know its name.
The city is also filled with churches, Greek and Roman ruins, and palaces. Given that I only had one afternoon and evening, I had to choose carefully.
Four Churches
I needed a new watch battery, and the hotel staff were able to send me to a shop near an ancient amphitheater.
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| Look close enough and you will see the Golden Arches! |
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| Saint Oronzo presides over the square that carries his name |
The shop and ruins are located in Piazza Saint Oronzo. I walked around and found a bookstore. I was hoping that I would find Italian versions of the children's classic Strega Nona which takes place in Italy. They did not have these books, alas. But the store did have a large selection of vampire romance novels including the Twilight series. The covers were in English, but the text was in Italian. I did find this book - see if you can tell what it is about - I was able to read some of it, and I am hoping there might be an English edition.
Next to the book store was a McDonald's! I looked in to see if they had McPizza - not that I would buy that, but I was curious. McPizza is made here in the states - in Utah! I was going to go on my way when I saw a little nun coming out of McDs with her hamburger, fries, and shake! Well, if the nuns ate there......I was hungry, so I got a burger. What intrigued me was how many Italians were swarming the place, and how many children wanted the icky soft serve ice cream that McDonald's serves! I had been told by my concierge of the best gelato place - across the square. I just didn't get it. Why have soft serve when you could have authentic Italian gelato (which is literally Italian for ice cream)? I opted for the Italian version and was not disappointed in my choices of chocolate and lemon. Seriously, I don't eat at McDonald's stateside, and I can't tell you the last time I ate there before Italy. Probably when I lived in Turkey - over a decade ago.
Now, I was going to explore churches. Some would say that once you've been in one church, you have pretty much seen them all. This is just not true! The first church I went to was Chiesa Del Gesu O Del Buon Consiglio, (Church of Jesus of Good Counsel), which was built in the 1500s under the Jesuit priest Bernardino Realino, whose relics are in the church. He was later made a saint.
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| The remains of St.Bernardino Realino |
The next church was the Basilica De Santa Croce (Sacred Cross), which was literally across the street from my hotel. This church dates from the 1600s There is restoration work being done on the outside, hence the scaffolding.
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| Attached to Santa Croce are governmental offices, but this used to be the Celestine Monastery. |
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| The ceiling of Santa Croce |
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| With the sunset, one side of the church was had more light than the other. |
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| While in Santa Croce, I lit a candle for my late sister-in-law, Linda Williams, who had passed away. She had been born a Catholic, so I thought it appropriate. |
I wanted to visit the Greek Orthodox Church which dates from the 1700s, but it was closed.
Next was the Church of Santa Angelo which dates from the 1600s.
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| I was not able to find out who this nun was. I am guessing that she was made a saint if her portrait is life size in a church. |
My final visit was to the Church of the Alcantarines, Chiesa di Santa Maria Provvidenza O Delle Alcantarine, which dates from the 1700s. The Alcantarines were a distinct group of Franciscan monks from Spain who wore only sandals, or most likely, went barefoot as a show of humility.
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Lecce is a beautiful city, and I would love to return.
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