Lecce

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Image:Lecce from the air.jpg Image:DSCF0006.JPG

This is about the Italian city of Lecce. For the football club, see U.S. Lecce.

Lecce is a city situated in the south of Italy, in the region of Apulia. It is known for its important Baroque monuments, such as the Holy Cross church in the center of the old town. 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. Lecce is called "La Firenze della Puglia" (The Florence of Apulia) because of the quantity of important monuments found there. The area where Lecce is located, is called Salento, another important nearby town is Otranto.

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History

The County of Lecce was a fief of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1053-1463, when it was annexed directly to the crown.

Lecce is also a province ("La provincia di Lecce") in Puglia.

The column that holds the statue of Saint Oronzo was given to Lecce by the city of Brindisi, it was given as a gift because Saint Oronzo cured the plague in this city.

The column is important as it was one of a pair that marked the end of the Appian Way (Roman Road network).

Otranto, a city within the province of Lecce, is the setting of the book "The Castle of Otranto", by Horace Walpole. It is generally thought to be the first Gothic novel.

In 1480 the Turks besieged the city, and after 80 days of bloodshed the Turkish expedition commander Achmet Pascià gathered 800 men and made them choose between embracing the Muslin faith or decapitation; the 800 men chose death. Their relics are contained in 7 great cabinets, in the apse of Otranto Cathedral, where the great rock used by the invaders for the decapitation is also kept. In 1481, Otranto was liberated by Ferdinand of Aragon who then fortified it.

In 1943, fighter aircraft based in Lecce helped support isolated Italian garrisons in the Aegean Sea fighting Germans during World War 2. Unfortunately they were delayed by the Allies, so it was too little too late.

Lecce stone is Lecce's main export. It is very soft and malleable, making it a great tool for sculpture.

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