It isn't a country, it's a "res publica"!
 Though the name may let us think the contrary, “Repubblica Salentina” is not a new State, but rather a movement and its name reminds “res publica”; by these words Latin people named “something that belonged to everyone”, “something for everybody’s sake”.
This new form of Republic, born inside a school (the Technical Institute “Costa” of Lecce, indeed) promotes the cultural, artistical, economical and touristic development of Salento.
The movement was born two years ago but, after such a short period of time, the activities of Repubblica Salentina are so much famous and appreciated all over Italy that the work of these young people is considered one of the most advanced and original strategies in the field of territorial marketing.
What do the icons represent?
The Sun stands for Nature and all its elements.
The Tower stands for the History of the Land.
The Neolithic Icon (found out in the "Grotta dei Cervi") stands for the Land and the People.
The Spider ("tarantola") stands for Culture and Traditions.
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"This is one of the most beautiful regions of Italy - and part of what makes it so beautiful is that it's virtually deserted. 
The well-travelled presenter fell in love with an apartment when showing it some prospective buyers during filming of the show last year. They bought it, but Lamb got one in the building next door. It is currently undergoing renovations. On Channel Four’s website she writes: “It’s just around the corner from Dame Helen Mirren’s. Well, if it’s good enough for the Queen, it’s good enough for me.”
They are rhythms and music which, with simple melodies, evoke pagan ritual dances. In the past they were considered an instrument to cure, to exorcize spirits and purify environments; moreover they propitiated victories and fertility. "
Lecce is a wonder of baroque architecture, and for this reason it is referred to as the “Florence of the South”.
Certainly there is some reason why Salento is considered the European Jamaica. “Reggae Salentino” was born at the end of 1980’s with a group of boys (the future Sud Sound System) who loved Reggae music and brought it to their land, a land so far from the usual chains but so rich in culture and traditions. The link between the Jamaican Reggae and the traditional popular heritage of Salento lies both in a mere musical attitude and in a series of social themes deriving from the geographical position of the two countries, both enlivened by a heartfelt warmth.
You can start your visit of Lecce from Porta Napoli. Here you see the Obelisk, built in “pietra leccese” to celebrate the visit of Ferdinand I, king of the two Sicilies; on it are carved the crests of the four districts which formed the Terra d’Otranto (Lecce, Brindisi, Gallipoli and Taranto). Then there is the Triumphal Arch, one of the old city gates (St. Giusto gate, in fact) set into the city walls. Built in 1548, it was dedicated to Emperor Charles V and was called Porta Napoli just because it guarded the main road which led to the capital of the Reing, Naples in fact. The monument shows Corinthian capitals and a cornice topped by a triangle on which the Arms of the Empire and the Crest are carved.
At the end of Via Palmieri, Piazza Duomo is in front of you with the Bell-Tower, the Cathedral, the Bishop’s palace and the old Seminary. The square has a peculiarity: it is a rare example of closed square in Italy. In the past, in fact, at the entrance (where there are two twin buildings) there was a wooden gate; this gate was closed every evening just to keep religious life apart from ordinary life. 
The Old Seminary (today the seat of the Diocesan Museum) is considered the thriumph of Baroque style. Its architect was Giuseppe Cino who built it in the 17th century using the same style as in “Palazzo dei Celestini”. In the hall there is the best example of Baroque in Lecce: the Well, in the middle, with lots of decorations (especially fruit and flowers). On solemn ceremonies the central balconies and the lateral windows are adorned with cloths on which are painted three pots, the symbols of Pignatelli family (a Bishop of Lecce belonged to this ancient family).
“Piazza St. Oronzo” was once called “the merchants’ square” because here twice a week there was the weekly market where merchants met for their business relationships in the shops and in the square. Here there is the old “Palace of Justice” (1577), built by the Jesuits, whose church (the “Church of Buon Consiglio”) is nearby. The Jesuits, in fact, played an important role in Lecce, in fact they founded a school (a kind of university) which was opened until 1767, the year when the order was expelled from Lecce. Until 1977 the palace was the seat of the Palace of Justice.
Then it remained covered for centuries until it was brought to light again in 1905 by the local scholar Cosimo De Giorgi during the works for the Bank of Italy. It shows the importance of Roman civilization in Lecce and here hunting games or celebrations and feasts were held in the past. This is understood by the friezes around the podium; then you will see scenes of fighting bulls and exotic animals (elephants, lions, panthers and wolves), Roman inscriptions, sculptures and even a statue of Athena attributed to the Athenian sculptor Alcmene (which nowadays is kept in the Provincial Museum). The amphitheatre, recalling those built by the Romans, was dug out of a limestone deposit, with the addition of “pietra leccese”. Probably there was another level of seats above the top row that we see today, probably with columns and pillars. The entrance is next to the bank and a staircase takes you down during summer performances. Here now there is an empty stone on which in the past there was a bronze eagle: it held a parchment (sculpted in bronze too) bearing lyrics composed by Quinto Ennio;
but the eagle was sacrified during the Second World War because its bronze was used to make guns. During the excavations, they found a small Greco-Messapian burial chamber (a hypogeum) with stone inscriptions which are now exhibited in the Archeaeological Museum: they were written in a language that has not been deciphered yet.
Not far from St. Oronzo square there are two wonderful examples of Baroque in Lecce: the “Basilica of Santa Croce" and “Palazzo dei Celestini” (the Celesitnes were another religious order and had their Monastery just here). The two buildings date back to the 16th century. The style of the church is ebullient without exaggeration, the façade is wonderful, with a beautiful rose-window surrounded by angels. It was the work of Gabriele Riccardi, Cesare Penna and Giuseppe Zimbalo. The words are not enough to describe the beauty of Santa Croce, but you certainly will be fascinated in front of lions, dragons and angels which hold the balaustrade. When you go inside you will breathe an austere atmosphere (as you feel in the Classical basilica style), with its wooden ceiling and the smooth columns adorned by Corinthian capitals. The altars, in the side aisles, are pure Baroque and some of them show beautiful paintings.
You cannot leave from Lecce without visiting the “Castle” and the 
“Church of San Matteo”. The “Castle” (16th century), built on a preexistent fortress of Gualtieri VI of Brienne, was the work of Gian Giacomo dell’Acaja. You can visit the large rooms of the Castle if you go to exhibitions or take part to cultural events here, even if the building is still being restored.
The “Church of San Matteo” is what the German historian Gregorovious defined the “Pantheon of Lecce Baroque”, a superb building with curve surfaces and strong volumes. You will notice the concave surface at the top and a convex one at the bottom. It was built in the late 17th century, designed by the architect Achille Carducci. The peculiarity of the façade are the columns: one is smooth, the other one has a spiral decoration. As the church is in the core of the “Movida leccese”, the parish priest has decided to keep it opened till late for evening church meetings. His aim, of course, is to draw young people’s attention to religious faith. 
The Cathedral is in a little square; it dominates the sight with its Renaissance rose window in Gothic-Arab style. It was built about from 1080 to 1088 and was dedicated to the “Virgin Assunta”. The portal, in Baroque style, was restored in 1674 and shows the coat of arms of the archbishop who commissioned its building. On the left side there is another entrance, in Renaissance style. The Cathedral has three large naves separated by 14 columns upon which there are romanesque, ionian and corinthian capitals. Inside here found refuge women and children who tried to escape from the Turkish siege, but the soldiers came inside and murdered them, spreading blood all over the floor, on the famous Pantaleone Mosaic.
The “Mosaic” (16 metres long) is very famous; it was made between 1163 and 1165 by a monk who lived in the near Abbey of San Nicola di Casole. His name (Pantaleone) in fact is written on the floor, at the entrance. In the mosaic the monk portrayed the Tree of Life (an enormous tree from the entrance to the presbitery) starting from the Creation. It is held by two big elephants. On its branches Pantaleone put other animals, both real and imaginary (lions, griffons, snakes, centaurs and unicorns), great men (Alexander the Great, King Arthur), Noah’s Ark, Adam and Eve (when they were expelled from the Garden of Eden), scenes from the Old Testament, the Zodiac (they are 12 scenes, each representing a country work) as well as other images taken both from classical myths and medieval legends. Many pictures and symbols cannot be understood. 
Once out of the Cathedral you take a little street that leads you to the Castle and the Ramparts. In summer lots of tourists come here and buy souvenirs or take photos. From the Ramparts you overlook the sea and the port that, especially in summe, is full of lights and people who sing and talk till late at night. 
In the past the walls were 2 metres high, now they are much lower and from there your gaze can sweep over the blue sea as far as the horizon. Among little alleys and tourtuous streets lots of baroque façades, wonderful buildings and houses will appear before you.
Start your walk in an anticlockwise direction from the road that dominates the new trading centre and you will find the “Church of San Francesco da Paola”, with its sober façade and a little niche with the statue of the Saint inside. The “Church of Santa Maria della Purità” is the oldest church, dating back to the second half of the 17th century; in the sacristy there are the tombs of the “Dead Christ” and of “Our Lady of Sorrows”. On Easter Saturday, before the sun rises, people bring these two statues on a procession, one of the most suggestive religious rituals of Salento. All the paintings inside belong to the 18th century Neapolitan school. Even the floor made of majolica and the benches are beautiful works of art.
In the highest place of the old town there is the “Cathedral of Sant’Agata”, one of the best examples of Baroque in Salento (after the Church of the Holy Cross in Lecce). The façade was built by Giuseppe Zimbalo, the same artist who built the Bell Tower in Lecce. What is peculiar here is the use of ” carparo”, which is less soft and friable than the “pietra leccese”, which gives its dark pink colour. The church was built in the years between 1629 and 1696 and on the façade it shows the two patron saints of Gallipoli: St Sebastiano and St. Fausto. Inside, on the walls and on the ceiling, there are paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries. On the main street there are “Balsamo Palace” (now the seat of the Town Hall) and “Pirelli Palace”, with a nice Baroque loggia, facing the Cathedral. Next to it, an ancient portal of the 16th century is today a chemist’s, which still keeps its original 19th century furniture and decorations. It is really worthy to visit.
A little further stands a building which once was the “Church of St. Angelo”, but now there is the town library containing more than ten thousand volumes, among which some books published in 1500, Latin incunabula and manuscripts.
Here there is also “Tafuri Palace”, one of the most precious: though restored in the façade, the building is run wild, but you can admire the oval windows with rococò friezes engraved on the “carparo” stone, the wrought iron rounded balconies which remind us the Spanish art; Spain, in fact, had trade relationships with Gallipoli.
The Museum, founded in 1868 from Sigismondo Castromediano, duke of Cavallino, is set in the old Jesuit “Collegio Argento”. It contains a rich collection of archaeological finds from Rudiae and from other Messapian centres; there are Messapian, Roman and Greek objects and sculptures as well as prehistorical finds with inscriptions and paintings. Here you can find too an accurate description of “dolmens” and “menhirs” which are in the countryside near Lecce.
It is in the heart of the town and contains remains of Roman civilization, found during the restoration of the Roman theatre (in 1929). The museum was opened in 1999 thanks to the contribution of “Fondazione Memmo” and now many cultural exhibitions are organized here.
The Chinese Missionary Museum and of Natural History of Frati Minori in Lecce dates back to 1963 when Father Egidio De Tommaso, decided to keep and show the objects brought to Italy by Father Egidio Santoro, a missionary to China for about 40 years. At first the museum was set in the sixteenth-century building of Fulgenzio Della Monica. In 1981 it was moved on the second floor of the Convent of S.Antonio. There are two sections: one concerning ancient and modern Chinese culture and the other one concerning Natural History. The latter is subdivided into two subsections: Sea Fauna and Terrestrial Fauna.
There are almost four hundred samples of butterflies; the exotic animals include animals coming from the extreme East and Formosa. The collection of Birds counts about 250 specimens. Go to the 
The Museum of Local Traditions next to the 12th century in the Abbey of St. Maria of Cerrate, north of Lecce, exhibits all sorts of tools used in folk tradition. It shows the kind of work people made in the fields in ancient times, when flour was made in home-windmills and oil in underground olive-mills. Here you can see the hand-looms used to make beautiful carpets, curtains or linens. Moreover in some rooms there is even a kitchen and its tools, the bedroom and the room where women wove.
The museum is considered a place of protection and study of environment, fauna and flora of Salento. In fact it is in touch with important universities and organizations both in Italy and in Europe. For example, it cooperates with the Zoological Centre Anton Dhorn in Naples, concerned with saving and studying turtles.
It is a place where you can see remains of the Griko culture. Opened in 2003, each room shows a different theme and some of the objects were just part of the house in ancient times, such as the kitchen utensils, the infant’s clothes, the work tools and the waving machine.
The house-museum is not only a collection of traditional objects; there is also a library with 3000 books and more than 10.000 articles published on local, national and Greek newspapers. A multimedial library keeps Videos, Cds, Cd-roms, Dvds.
Cutrofiano is the town of “terracotta”, in fact the interest in ceramics has grown into a real art. The museum was opened in 1985 as an exhibition of traditional “terracotta” produced by the local handicraftsmen. During the years the collection has been enriched thanks to donations by aristocratic families; now it shows all that can be done out of clay: plates, bowls, small amphoprae, pots and so on.
It keeps the collections which the famous researcher Michele Paone left to the Cistercian monks, after years of researches and journeys. It contais a rich collection of coins of the Reign of Naples, a collection of medals with sacred images, old maps of Apulien and Salento, views of towns and pictures of folk costumes.
Inside the halls of the wonderful Castello de’ Monti you will see all that is worthy to see about the “Grecìa Salentina”, through computerised recostructions of houses or videos or CDs in Griko language and music. The multimedial museum gives you information about the traditions and the architecture of “Grecia” in Salento, all this while passing from one room to another; moreover you can listen to explanations or see images even in 3D.
Opened in 1992 inside the 17th century Lopez Palace as museum of sacred art, it keeps objects of high historical and artistical interest, all coming from the Cathedral: the remains of the first floor mosaic of the Cathedral dating back to the Roman age, a christening font of the 15th century (a work of the local sculptor Gabriele Riccardi), mitres, silver reliquiaries, pastorals and lots of religious objects. On the ground floor there is the lapidary and the sculpture section; on the first floor you will see a wonderful collection of paintings and on the second one there is a section dedicated to the applied arts.
The Archaeological Museum of Messapian Civilization is set inside the “Palazzo Baronale” (16th century). There are remains from the Archaic and Hellenistic age up to the Middle ages. It is worthy to see the “Tesoretto di Vaste” consisting of 150 silver coins called “stateri” of the 3rd century B.C. and 17 “tesserae lusoriae”, made of ivory and used in games during the 2nd century B.C. 
It was opened by Lucio Parrotto, one of the miners who went to work in Belgium. It reminds us the sacrifice of lots of men who died at a depth of lots of metres in the coal mines. Lucio was 21 when he left for Belgium, in 1956. He and his wife Angela then collected whatever material they had for long years: photos, tools, shovels, picks, hammers, lanterns, helmets and even trolleys for coal. On the walls there is even a page from the “Sole d’Italia” dated 9th August 1956, that tells the disgrace of Marcinelle, when, at a depth of 1035 mt., 262 men died (136 of them were Italian!). 
It has four rooms, each one bearing the name of the four natural elements (water, air, earth and fire) and preserves so many witnesses of Salentine culture. You can find sieves made of wood or leather, vases made of “terracotta” for water or oil, the ancient clock from the “Chiesa Madre” and a rich collection of photos. There are about 300 objects representing ancient daily life in Salento.
The collection has been enlarged with gifts by private citizens and now it includes tools and furnishings belonged to farmers, joiners, blacksmiths, cobblers, bricklayers and weavers: for example there are sieves for flour, olives or legumes, a wooden plough, tools for reaping and so on. Go to the 
The objects preserved in the museum were found out during the excavations inside the built-up area; they are witnesses of the Messapian presence in Alezio. The museum was opened in the early 1980’s and, after being closed for a long time, in 2000 it was restored and settled inside Tafuri Palace, a beautiful building of the 18th century. Among the finds there are: round bowls, toys made of “terracotta” and a gold trousseaux found inside a Messapian tomb of a young woman. This tomb dates back to the 1st century B.C.
It is situated in the archaeological area (10 hectares wide) around Cavallino, linked to the town through a cycle path which takes directly to the Baronal Palace and to the monastery of Dominicans. It shows the ruins of buildings, tombs, cisterns, monuments and water channels. You can see the ruins of an ancient Messapian settlement of the archaic age; indeed, Cavallino is one of the most famous Messapian sites together with Oria and Ugento. The “Museo Diffuso” is also the seat of the Archaeoligical School of Lecce University.
Dating back to 15th – 18th century, the “Granafei” oil mill, at the entrance of the historical centre, has been recently restored. Going down you can have an idea of how people made a living out of oil production. There are two rooms which were used for the pressing of olives, two tables and two sink-holes.
It surrounds the “Crypte of SS. Stefani”. It is called “Parco dei Guerrieri” (The Warriors’ park) and is 20 hectares wide. The park is practicable also by bicycle and all around it there are the fortified walls dating back to the 4th century B.C. with a series of artificial sand dunes upon which there are shapes of Messapian warriors.
It is in Piazzetta Orsini, one of the most beautiful religious buildings in Salento that deserved the name of “Basilica Minore Pontificia”. Looking at the façade you will see the skillful hands of stone-cutters and artists who, from 1384 to 1391, erected it for Raimondello Orsini del Balzo, for people of Latin religion.
the image of St. Francesco is visible in several arches and pilasters as well as in the arch of the apse: we see St. Francesco while he receives the stigmata from the seraph and his embrace with St. Domenico. St. Francesco, St. Chiara, St. Elisabetta are portrayed also in the cloister, together with other Saints, in twelve medallions.
brought to light lots of remains dating back to the 8th - 7th centuries B. C. Agriculture developed here during the Roman age and under the Bizantyne domination. From the Bizantyne period there remains the “Church of St. Marina” (with beautiful frescoes) and the “Church of St. Maria of Miggiano”. When the Normans arrived, in the second half of the 11th century, the area around Muro Leccese was full of small agricultural centres. Then, from the 16th century on, it saw an extraordinary building expansion and lots of monuments were built so that Muro was defined the “small capital of Baroque”: the “Convent” and the “Church of the Dominicans”, the “Church of Crocifisso”, the “Church of the Annunziata”, the “Church of the Immacolata”, the “Colonna dei quattro evangelisti” (it was built in 1607 and is just in the middle of “Piazza del Popolo”, certainly the most beautiful square in Salento), “Palazzo Negri”, “Palazzo del Principe”and the “underground oilmill of Protonobilissimo”.
The beach of Porto Badisco has a great historical value and, as the Latin poet Virgilio wrote, it is the shore where Aenea arrived after he escaped from Troy. Here the inhabitants of the Neolitic period lived in a cave and decorated it with paintings and pictograms. The cave is the “Grotta dei Cervi”, one of the most important pre-historical sites in Europe, with its dark coloured paintings perfectly preserved still today. Even it has been described as the pre-historical “Cappella Sistina” but you cannot visit it not to ruin the paintings on the walls. Anyway if you go to Porto Badisco in summer, you will enjoy a rare landscape: the bay is all covered with yellow brooms peeping out of the rocks and the sea has a green-blue colour, as clear as the crystal. Here you can taste sea urchins, both in little stalls and at the restaurants.
In the middle of the little bay there a pretty beach: on the left side there is a small stream, few metres long, which slowly flows into the sea. This is one of the last branches of an underground river where the water from the Valle dei Cervi goes. Few metres far from the beach, the sea becomes very deep. On the northern side there is the entrance to the “Cunicolo dei Diavoli”, where rare specimens of cave animals live.
The history of Roca goes back to the Bronze Age and lasts until 1544, when Ferrante Loffredo, the Governor of Terra d’Otranto, decided to raze it to the ground because lots of highwaymen had found refuge here. So the survivors moved to the inland and founded Roca Nuova, where today you can see the remains of an old two storey castle and a little church dedicated to St. Vito. What is worthy to visit is the “Grotta della Poesia”, on the promontory below the column upon which stands the statue of the Virgin of Roca. In the past you could get in only through the sea, now it is possible to go down through metal ladders. On the walls there are inscriptions written in Messapian, Greek and Latin language: this demonstrates Roca gave hospitality to merchants and pirates from different countries. Then you can also admire the remains of the castle built by Gualtiero VI of Brienne in 1353, remains of Messapian walls, of tombs and even houses.
On the Jonian coast, between Torre dell’Alto and Torre Uluzzo, you will find a suggestive landscape with emerging rocks in a clear sea surrrounded by a thick pinewood and Mediterranean bush. This area has been protected since 1980, after violent quarrels with the public and political authorities, and goes under the name of “Parco naturale attrezzato di Porto Selvaggio”. The area is full of vegetal and animal specimens: goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch, lizards, foxes, hedgehogs, capers, lentisk and myrtle. The whole area is 428 hectares wide.
This town was born out of three country houses which gathered together against the enemies’ attacks.These three houses appear in fact on the municipal coat of arms. Since then, every house tells the story of the town, as we see from the Castle of Principi Gallone and its tower of the 14th century.The legend says that the Castle had as many rooms as the days of the year and that the “throne room”could house more than 1000 people. Now it is the seat of the Town Hall but the “throne room”, newly restored, keeps its ancient austerity and stateliness. Not very far from here, stands the baroque “Church of St. Domenico”, dating back to 1688, where you will see wonderful paintings and statues. The Gallone family, then, commissioned the building of the ”Chiesa matrice”, and wanted it so wide to overshadow other religious buildings in the South of Salento. On a side of the square stands the “Church of Nativity”, where, in the Crypt, are kept the mortal remains of Cardinal Giovanni Panico, to whom the local hospital (run by the Marcelline nuns) is dedicated.
It is situated on the road from Tricase to Santa Maria di Leuca. It has a quadrangular tower, Novaglie, and will show you a breathtaking landscape while you cross the bridge on “Ciolo”, that joins together the two sides of a deep canyon. Here the sea has a colour from blue to green. It takes the name “Ciolo” from the “ciole”, a kind of ravens which live on the walls.
We suggest you to come here because is really fantastic!
white with ochre friezes and many of them have been bought by foreigners, especially people from Great Britain fond calmness and tranquillity. Once in the heart of the town, the asphalt has been replaced by basalt paving stones and if you look above the roofs of the houses, you will see hundreds of chimneys which seem to protect the 1.600 inhabitants. You will not see enormous palaces, the preciousness of this little town lies just in its simplicity, in its narrow streets which lead into cosy little squares.