* Venues

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.

At the Sigismondo Castromediano Museum, property of the Province of Lecce, through the exhibition of interesting archaeological finds, it is possible to deepen one's knowledge of the Salento since prehistoric times and in particular the Messapian and Roman domination.
The art gallery houses paintings dating for the most part from 1400 to 1700.
Since 29 June, it has been hosting the exhibition by Costas Varotsos "Elpís. Prometeo o del sogno infranto di Europa" (Elpís. Prometheus or the shattered dream of Europe") (curatorship by Giusi Giaracuni and Luigi De Luca) to which the 18 July (11pm) Classical Forms event is connected. The exhibition can be visited until 12 January 2025. Admission is free and includes a visit to the Castromediano Museum every day except Mondays, from 8.30 am to 10 pm.

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.

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.

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.

The Palace of the Seminary of Lecce was built on the right side of Piazza Duomo by Bishop Michele Pignatelli, thanks to the contribution of many local nobles (1694). The project was entrusted to the great Lecce architect and sculptor Giuseppe Cino, who finished the work in 1709, under another bishop also called Pignatelli, Fabrizio, who was the creator of the expansion of the structure with the addition of the attic floor (1729).

From the porch cloister, it's possible to access the second floor, now home to of the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art - MuDAS, the Archiepiscopal Curia and the Diocesan Historical Archives.

On the ground floor, some rooms are devoted to the Gallery of Contemporary Sacred Art, the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences and the Innocenziana Library, named after the bishop of Lecce Antonio Pignatelli, pope with the name Innocent XII.

Entering the beautiful cloister, the gaze converges at the center where, on a base of three steps, stands, elegant, a small well in Lecce stone, the work of Giuseppe Cino, likened to a refined basket of fruit. On the vera, with its peculiar oval shape, vegetable whorls alternate with water-related motifs, an obvious reminder of the well's very function. Two small pillars from which angel heads and lush fruits and sprouts emerge support the arch decorated with festoons of fruit and cherubs. Above is a statue of St. Irene, the city's ancient patron saint.

The Le Costantine Foundation covers more than 33 hectares in the countryside of Uggiano la Chiesa, a stone's throw from the center of Casamassella, close to the Idro Valley. The blue sea of Otranto frames an enchanting backdrop of woods and Mediterranean scrub.

Before the eyes parade olive groves, meadows, fragrant broom and myrtle bushes, locust trees, holm oaks, pines and many botanical rarities, such as the Vallonea oak and small wild orchids.

Among the various riches guarded by Le Costantine is first and foremost the art of embroidery and weaving. First a tool to promote women's autonomy and emancipation, today great excellence, recognized in Italy and around the world.

The craftswomen who work there produce textile artifacts of the highest quality by weaving natural fibers with ancient wooden looms with four healds. They use techniques dating back hundreds of years and perform every finish strictly by hand.

The De Monti's Castle in Corigliano d'Otranto represents, in the words of G. Bacile di Castiglione, the "most beautiful monument of military and feudal architecture of the early 16th century in the Terra d'Otranto," and certainly constitutes the most successful example of the transition from medieval square towers to Renaissance round towers. Today it has a Baroque facade built in the 17th century, with decorative corbels and anthropomorphic figures along the balcony. No furnishings, no ornaments bear witness to this period of splendor and wealth, instead some structural changes made since the 18th century suggest the use of the place for productive purposes. The castle, in fact, went from being a noble residence to being used as an underground oil mill, then as a steam mill and, finally, for much of the 20th century as a tobacco factory, following what were the economic-manufacturing vocations of the area. It has been municipal property since December 1999 and today, with the 'Flying Castle' project, it is a cultural space open to the community and the territory, a creative workshop for the production of images, sounds and visions.