LECCE – It is a magic that every year embraces the feelings of the Apulians and conquers the hearts of tourists. The doors of the most beautiful buildings in Lecce are swinging open again today on the occasion of the fourteenth edition of the “National Day of the Association of Italian Historic Houses”.
From 10am to 1pm and from 4.30pm to 8.30pm, the largest widespread museum in Italy will come back to life in all its extraordinary locations: the cities. Almost six hundred monuments throughout the country, including castles, fortresses, villas, parks and gardens, and more than 4 thousand owners of prestigious residences will open their doors for a unique experience. The aim is to make timeless places accessible for an entire day, surrounded by the wonders of the Italian artistic and cultural heritage, usually closed to the general public.
In Lecce, organized by the Puglia Section of the national association, with the support of the Municipality – there will be over thirty places open to visitors, including homes, gardens, courtyards, entrance halls and cloisters.
The visits will be enriched by book presentations, live music, artistic performances and guided tours in foreign languages. Furthermore, on the occasion of the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s death, the «Cortili Aperti» program has included two important events dedicated to opera lovers. The first, at Palazzo Tamborrino Cezzi, with the concert “I lived in art, I lived in love”: a journey to discover the torments and passions of the great composer; the other, in the Church of Sant’Anna, includes a conversation with music and images curated by Eraldo Martucci entitled “Sacred love and profane love: religiosity in the works of Giacomo Puccini on the centenary of his death”.
the routesThe three itineraries promoted through the courtyards of the baroque city will be marked by different colours. The red route, from Porta San Biagio, with the Marcelline Institute of Culture and Languages, Palazzo Pollicastro Boutique Hotel, Galleria Ship in Arte, Palazzo Carrozzini, Palazzo Lecciso, Palazzo Morisco, Palazzo Tamborino Cezzi, Palazzo Sambiasi, Palazzo Bernardini, Palazzo Brunetti, Palazzo Andretta, MUST – Historical museum of the city of Lecce.
The blue route, from Porta Rudiae, with the Academy of Fine Arts, Borgo Sant’Anna, Palazzo Scarciglia, Church of S. Elisabetta, Palazzo Apostolico Orsini, Palazzo del Seminario, Palazzo Marrese, Palazzo Rollo, Palazzo Carrelli Palombi, former convent of the Teatini.
Finally, the orange route, from Porta Napoli, with the Church of Santa Maria di Ogni Bene and the former Augustinian convent, Palazzo Giaconia, the II Circolo Didattico “Edmondo De Amicis”, Palazzo Bozzi Corso, Palazzo Personé-Taurino, home of the Jewish Museum, Palazzo Maremonte – Chillino, Palazzo Protonobilissimo, Palazzo Guido, noble chapel of San Leucio, Church of Santa Maria della Nova.
As part of the National Day organized by the Regional Section of the Historic Houses Association, the beauties of historic buildings in other Apulian cities will also be revealed. In particular, villas, castles and farms in the provinces of Bari, Taranto and Brindisi. In the province of Brindisi it will be possible to visit the Dentice di Frasso castle in San Vito dei Normanni and Masseria Tor Leanza in San Pietro Vernotico. In the province of Taranto, doors open at Villa Pantaleo, while in the province of Bari the doors of the Cathedral of San Michele Arcangelo, of the Church of Santa Maria la Veterana and of the Baronial Palace in Bitetto, of the “E. Pomarici Santomasi” in Gravina in Puglia and Masseria Spina in Monopoli; in Noci, it will be the turn of Villa Lenti, Masseria Don Giulio, Oasi di Barsento, Torre dell’Orologio, Church of Santo Stefano, Church of Santa Chiara, Cloister of the Clarisse, Palazzo Comunale, Church of Carmine and Masseria Murgia Albanese. And again, in Corato, Palazzo Gioia will open its doors.
«Open Courtyards is the opportunity and the joy of sharing with visitors the beauty hidden behind the doors of historic homes – commented Rossella Arditi Galante, vice president of the Puglia Section of the National Association – and every year the list is enriched with new openings . The strength of Cortili Aperti is also the young people to whom we entrust beauty and history. For this edition too, in fact, we involved numerous schools, from primary schools to high schools, ending with the Academy of Fine Arts.”
