Culture, environment and society. Strengths, weaknesses and challenges for Lecce city

Lecce city is considered to be one of the most interesting tourist destinations in southern Italy due to its rich cultural heritage: a sort of perfect delirium of architecture, light, colours, allegories and symbols. The explosion of baroque is joined by the renaissance elements and the magic appeal of the Norman period. Gems in the city are the churches, the amphitheatre and the theatre, and the unique tangle of ancient streets, courtyards and mansions illuminated by the characteristic Lecce building stone. The city offers a broad range of cultural services, which have given rise to new entrepreneurial forms of urban governance in the cultural sector, but continues to be stressed by sustainability issues (pertaining to transport, waste and quality of life), which represent the major challenges of its future. After an analysis of the city of Lecce’s recent socio-economic, cultural dynamics and sustainability issues this paper analyses its urban development strategies with a view to achieving a more sustainable city.