Roman tiers in Piazza Sant'Oronzo
In the heart of Lecce, in Piazza Sant'Oronzo, the city's main square, an ancient monument lies a few metres below street level: the Roman amphitheatre of Lupiae, the Roman city that preceded Lecce, built in the second century AD, perhaps under Hadrian. It was rediscovered by chance in 1901, during the construction of the Bank of Italy building, and only partly excavated, because the rest lies beneath the surrounding buildings and the church of Santa Maria della Grazia.
The visible part, about a third of the whole, shows the tiers of seats and the arena, with the corridors and arches; the amphitheatre could hold about 25,000 spectators, and fragments of reliefs with scenes of hunting and fights with animals have been found. In summer it hosts concerts and performances. In the square stands the column of Sant'Oronzo, the patron saint of the city, with a bronze statue of the saint, made with one of the two columns that marked the end of the Via Appia in Brindisi, donated to Lecce in the seventeenth century after the saint, according to tradition, protected the city from the plague. Not far away, the Roman theatre of Lecce, smaller, is also visible.
Tip: the square is the meeting place of the city; have a "caffè in ghiaccio con latte di mandorla" at one of the historic cafés overlooking the amphitheatre.
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