Lecce by Train

Lecce, 130 km southeast of Bari, is reached in about 1h 25 by direct Trenitalia trains for €10–15 — far simpler than driving and parking in the restricted old centre. Often called the 'Florence of the South', Lecce is built from soft golden Lecce stone carved into the exuberant Barocco Leccese, a flamboyant baroque style unique to the Salento. From the station it is a 15-minute walk to Piazza Sant'Oronzo, where a sunken Roman amphitheatre sits beside the column dedicated to the city's patron. A morning arc continues to the Basilica di Santa Croce, the masterpiece of Lecce baroque with a façade dense with grotesques, beasts and foliage, and on to the harmonious Piazza del Duomo, an enclosed square framed by the cathedral, its tall bell tower and the bishop's palace. The afternoon suits the artisan side of the city: workshops producing cartapesta (papier-mâché) religious figures, a centuries-old Lecce craft, and the food — a warm pasticciotto filled with custard, a savoury rustico, and the iced caffè leccese sweetened with almond milk. The compact, mostly flat historic centre is easy to cover on foot, and a combined church ticket such as LeccEcclesiae streamlines visits to several monuments including the Duomo bell tower. Lecce rewards a visit in any season — the stone glows warm at sunset, spring and autumn are comfortable for walking, and December brings Christmas markets and nativity scenes — though summer afternoons can be fierce in the shadeless piazzas. Frequent trains make it one of the most straightforward and rewarding car-free day trips from Bari.