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Home > Travel Italy > Italy Destinations > Lecce
Lecce
Italy, officially the Italian Republic or Repubblica Italiana, is a Southern European country comprising of the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Their official language is Standard Italian, descendant of Tuscan dialect and a direct descendant of Latin. The word Italy is derived from the Homeric Aeolic word which means bull.
Lecce is a city situated in the south of Italy, in the region of Apulia. It is the capital of the province with the same name. Lecce is called La Firenze del Sud or the Florence of South because of the quantity of important baroque monuments found there. The area where Lecce is located, is called Salento, another important nearby town being Otranto. Lecce stone is Lecce's main export. It is very soft and malleable, making it a great tool for sculpture. Lecce is situated at 49 metres above sea level. Its area is 238 square kilometre with total population of 91,570 as on December 2004. Its density is 350 per square kilometre.
Lecce is known for its important Baroque monuments. The most important is the Church of the Holy Cross. It was begun in 1353, but works were soon halted until 1549, to be completed only in 1695. The church has a richly decorated façade with animals, grotesque figures and vegetables, and has a large rose window. Next to the church is the Government Palace, a former convent. Secondly, the Roman Amphitheatre, built in the 2nd century and situated near Sant'Oronzo Square, deserves to be mentioned as well. In its time, the amphitheatre was able to host more than 25,000 people. It is now half-buried because other important monuments were built above it over the centuries.
Presently, Lecce experiences a sharp social, economic and population growth derivative of the strategic position of the locality and the high level of well-being and quality of life that is enjoyed with respect to other places of Italy. Lecce, justifiably so, enjoys a very positive reputation with worldwide travelers, and is one of the most visited place.
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