* Places

Masseria Le Stanzie in Supersano is one of the oldest ‘masseria’ in Salento, now known for the characteristic “te pendula” tomatoes (hanging tomatoes)  that dye many of its porticos red.

Its ideal location in the heart of Salento has made it, over the centuries, an ideal place for pilgrims and wayfarers to stop and rest (the name itself evokes its role as an ancient stazio). 

Today it is much more than an agritourism, it is a true place of worship of the rural civilization and its ancient traditions. It has orchards, olive groves, vineyards, vegetable garden with seasonal vegetable production, and cattle and sheep farms. 

The structure is divided between large and small rooms, courtyards, pergolas, farmyards, granaries, stone ovens and wonderful underground oil mills.

Palazzo Maresgallo is a historic residence, a 16th-century architectural jewel, located in the heart of Lecce’s historic center. 

After a skillful and meticulous conservative restoration, it now shines in a new light, between old-world charm and contemporary comfort.

Its Rooftop overlooks the city and offers enchanting views.

The Convent of the Carmelites of Lecce, currently home to the Rectorate of the University of Salento, together with the adjacent Church of S. Maria del Carmine represents one of the most significant testimonies to the countless historical events that have affected the urban social structure of the city of Lecce.

The Convent is built between the 1500s and 1600s by Paduano Bax, on earlier stratifications. In particular, the cloister, in the second half of the 17th century, was enriched with frescoes depicting stories of the order’s saints, which restoration in the early 2000s has made fragmentarily re-emerge, as well as revealing, thanks to an intensive excavation campaign, a sequence of thirteen phases of occupation ranging from the Paleolithic to the late 1500s, passing through the Messapi, the late Roman age and the Middle Ages.

Belloluogo Park is an equipped green area not far from the center of Lecce. It takes its name from the precious 14th-century Belloluogo Tower located in the northern part of the park, in front of which the ancient moat is still visible: with its circular body, the tower represents one of the rare surviving testimonies of the Salento Middle Ages. It was the historic residence of Queen Marie D’Enghien, who spent the last moments of her life here. 

It is precisely in the area around the famous Belloluogo Park Tower that in July 2022, by concession of the Municipality of Lecce, which owns it, the Oasi Classiche Forme was born, a place where it was imagined that the culture of the Festival could grow. 

Artistic director Beatrice Rana and the Opera Prima association, which organizes the Festival, have pledged to donate and plant a handful of trees each year for the benefit of the Classiche Forme Oasis, the care of which they will look after over time.