Lecce Cathedral

Lecce Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

Lecce Cathedral stands on the Piazza del Duomo, an enclosed square in the heart of the old town that opens off the main street through a narrow gateway, so it comes as a surprise. A small admission is charged, and the ticket often combines the cathedral with the diocesan museum and other churches of the city, including Santa Croce; the combined pass is good value if you plan to see several.

Walking tours of Lecce always pass through the square, which is one of the finest baroque spaces in southern Italy, and explain the local limestone that makes the city's buildings glow. The bell tower can sometimes be climbed on guided visits. Lecce is a good base for exploring the Salento peninsula and its beaches. Nothing needs booking, and the square is always open, so the architecture can be enjoyed even when the church is closed. The diocesan museum entrance is in the seminary building on the right of the square.

Visiting Lecce Cathedral: what to see

A cathedral has stood here since the twelfth century, but the present building was rebuilt between 1659 and 1670 by the architect Giuseppe Zimbalo, the master of Lecce baroque. It is unusual in having two facades. The main entrance faces the end of the square, but the more spectacular facade is on the side, facing the gateway, so that visitors entering the square see it first: a triumphal arch of carved stone with a statue of Saint Oronzo, the city's patron.

The bell tower beside the cathedral, in five tiers, rises to about seventy metres, and from the top it is said you can see the sea on a clear day. The square is enclosed by the bishop's palace and the seminary, whose facades are part of the same composition. Inside, the cathedral has gilded ceilings, baroque altars and a crypt with columns and capitals from the earlier church. The crypt is carried on dozens of columns with carved capitals showing animals, birds and foliage.

Lecce Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral closes at lunchtime, as most churches in Lecce do, and reopens in the late afternoon. The square is at its most magical in the evening, when the stone is lit and glows gold, and when people stroll through the old town. Summer is hot, and the middle of the day is best spent indoors or in the shade. Spring and autumn are ideal.

The feast of Saint Oronzo in late August fills the city with lights, stalls and fireworks, and the square is the heart of the celebrations. Christmas brings a fair of papier-mache nativity figures, a local craft. Allow half an hour for the cathedral, and return to the square after dark to see it lit. The Roman amphitheatre, half excavated beneath the main square, is a five-minute walk away.