Lecce ~ part 2

Entering the city of Lecce, you know you’re in for something luscious.  Limestone, gorgeous sun-mellowed colors, elegant iron railings, gracious dwellings and many Baroque churches whose facades take Baroque to a whole new level of intensity.  Lecce has been nicknamed “The Florence of the South” and I would agree with that comparison.  It’s v v lovely.

Lecce flourished mostly from the 11^th to the 16^th century.  It made it fortune in trade because of its geographical position and at one point was an important outpost for the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus which initiated in Spain with the work of Ignatius Loyola.  And there is definitely a Spanish aesthetic or pathos to the décor and architecture, at least to my mind. 

The Church of Santa Irene is molto fantastico.  Saint Irene was an early martyr, from the early 4^th century.  She was one of three sisters, Agape and Chionia and Irene, who were martyred in Thessalonica for refusing to eat morsels of food that had been sacrificed to the pagan Roman gods and for owning (and reading) Christian texts.  They were brought before Emperor Diocletian.  They held firm.  They were imprisoned and then the two elder sisters, Agape and Chionia, were burned.  Diocletian sent the youngest, Irene, to a brothel.  In an escape attempt, she was shot in the throat with an arrow and died. Geez.  Martyrdom is no picnic.

Here is the Basilica di Santa Croce.  This is the Jesuit Basilica. Seriously:

And San Giovanni Battista:

Is Lecce all just churches?  No.  It is made up of layers of architectural styles, little alleys and neighborhoods, shops, restaurants, arts, amusements.  Historically interesting and still vibrant.