Signature experience — Matera
Lecce, the Baroque Florence
Duration
Full day
Price
From €690
Mercedes
Dedicated vehicle & chauffeur
Seventeen churches and convents shape Lecce’s historic core, carved in honey‑colored pietra leccese that local masters have been twisting into foliage and cherubs since the 1600s. From Matera, it’s a 145 km run due south: the lacework façade of Santa Croce, the filigreed balconies of Palazzo dei Celestini, the Roman amphitheatre peeking onto Piazza Sant’Oronzo, and a ghiaccio coffee beneath Porta Napoli’s arch. Add a stop with a cartapesta artisan—paper‑mâché saints molded here since Bourbon times.
Your dedicated driver meets you at your Matera hotel with a Mercedes at disposal all day, flexible timing and smooth access past ZTL gates. Drop‑offs right by Santa Croce, standby during visits, then lunch on ciceri e tria or a warm pasticciotto before heading to an inland abbey or the Otranto coast, about 45 minutes away. While the driving’s handled, you taste, you wander, and you’re back in Matera before dark.
Your itinerary
- I
08:00 — Pickup at your Matera hotel and drive via SS7/SS613 to Lecce (about 1h40).
- II
10:00 — Drop by Basilica di Santa Croce to see the façade, Palazzo dei Celestini, and Piazza Sant’Oronzo (1h30).
- III
11:45 — Cartapesta workshop, then pasticciotto and caffè leccese by Porta Napoli (45 min).
- IV
13:00 — Lunch at leisure, optional run to Otranto or Abbazia di Cerrate, then drive back to Matera (ETA ~19:00).
What’s included
- ✓ Dedicated Amani driver
- ✓ Mercedes E/V at disposal
- ✓ Matera hotel pickup
- ✓ ZTL drop-offs and wait
Your chauffeur’s tip
In summer, plan church visits between 10:00 and 12:30—many close mid‑afternoon, and the low sun best reveals Santa Croce’s pietra leccese carvings.
Book this experience
Confirmed within 30 minutes · Fixed price quoted in advance