Nardo

Nardò is a Baroque town in the Salento, inland from the Ionian coast of the province of Lecce. It has ancient roots as a Messapian and later Byzantine centre, and in 1497 passed to the House of Acquaviva, under whom it grew into one of Salento's main cultural hubs, home to several academies and centres of literary and philosophical study. Its historic core is built around Piazza Salandra, considered one of the finest Baroque squares in southern Italy and framed by arcaded palaces. In its centre stands the Guglia dell'Immacolata, an octagonal Baroque column carved from local carparo stone in 1769, rising about 19 metres. Nardò's cathedral, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, dates back to around 1000 AD; its 18th-century Baroque façade was added over a Romanesque-Gothic interior that survives largely intact. The town's stretch of Ionian coastline, around Santa Maria al Bagno and Santa Caterina, is a popular summer destination in its own right, along with the Porto Selvaggio nature reserve.

Nardò is close to Lecce and is reachable by regional bus and road from there; the town's coastal frazioni (Santa Maria al Bagno, Santa Caterina, Sant'Isidoro) are further out along the Ionian shore.

The historic centre around Piazza Salandra is compact and walkable; a car is useful for reaching the coastal areas and Porto Selvaggio.

Piazza Salandra, with its Baroque palaces and the Guglia dell'Immacolata, is the town's centrepiece. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, with its Romanesque-Gothic interior beneath an 18th-century façade, is another key sight.

Lecce, the Baroque capital of the Salento, is a short drive away; Gallipoli and the Ionian coast towns lie further south.