Lecce · Go deeper
Where to live
Lecce reads out from its old walls: the golden baroque historic centre inside them, the modern shopping and university districts just outside, and the quieter residential areas beyond. The further out you go, the quieter and the cheaper it gets.
The walled baroque centre
Centro Storico
most sought-afterThe honey-coloured baroque heart of Lecce: winding lanes, carved church façades, the great Piazza del Duomo and the buzzing Piazza Sant'Oronzo with its Roman arena, all on foot. It's beautiful, lively, and full of culture, cafés, and nightlife, the most desirable place to live and, by Lecce's gentle standards, still affordable. The old baroque buildings can be quirky in layout, and it's the busiest, most tourist-touched part of the city.
Best for: those who want to live inside the baroque, among the culture and the life
Learn more about the historic heart
Lecce is carved from light. The soft, honey-gold local stone, pietra leccese, is so fine-grained it can be worked almost like wood, and in the seventeenth century the city’s craftsmen used it to run riot, covering church after church in a baroque so exuberant it earned Lecce the name ‘Florence of the South.’ The masterpiece is the Basilica di Santa Croce, its façade a delirium of carved beasts, cherubs, and flowers that took a century to complete; nearby, the Piazza del Duomo forms one of the most harmonious baroque squares in all of Italy.
But the city is far older than its baroque skin. It was Roman Lupiae, and its past surfaces right in the middle of the main square: Piazza Sant’Oronzo is built around a Roman amphitheatre from the second century AD, half-excavated, where gladiators once fought and shoppers now pass by. Messapian, Roman, and baroque, all in a few walkable streets of golden stone, Lecce wears two thousand years lightly, and beautifully.
Just outside the walls
Mazzini
premium, modernThe modern shopping and business district just outside the old walls: wide boulevards, well-kept apartment blocks, boutiques, and cafés. It's the elegant, urban side of Lecce, calmer in the evenings than the centre, and popular with professionals, families, and expats who want comfort and convenience a short walk from the baroque. The trade is that it's handsome but less atmospheric than the old city.
Best for: professionals and families wanting a smart, convenient base by the centre
San Pio & the university quarter
mid, young valueThe lively university area, with affordable flats, cheap eats, bars, and green space, close to the campus and full of student and young-professional energy. It's the best value close to the centre, busy and youthful. It's livelier and more student-flavoured, quieter out of term.
Best for: students, academics, and young residents wanting value and energy near the centre
The outer districts
Rudiae & the outer residential areas
mid, residential valueThe quieter residential districts spreading beyond the centre, Rudiae, named for the ancient Messapian city whose ruins lie nearby, and its neighbours, with a homely, neighbourly feel, family-run shops, more space, and lower prices, a short bus ride or drive from the baroque core. Calm, local, and good value, this is where much of everyday Lecce settles.
Best for: families and residents wanting a quiet, homely base with space and value
Rough tiers are indicative and move with the market. Check current listings on Immobiliare ›