Events

01-02/08/2024  - CANNOLE

In Cannole, near Otranto, the Fair of Our Lady of Constantinople takes place every year on Easter Monday. The statue of Our Lady of Constantinople is carried from her chapel to the Mother Church and a large bonfire is lit near the chapel.

On this occasion held every Easter Monday, a large fair with various goods and livestock attracts many people from neighboring towns in the province of Lecce.

Tradition has it that Our Lady stopped the Turks at the gates of the town inducing their commander to convert.

From that time Our Lady of Constantinople in Cannole was also called "Our Lady of the Turk."

01/04/2024 - Santa Cesarea Terme

Every year, on Easter Monday, the appointment is renewed in Santa Cesarea Terme with the Festival of the "cuddura".

It is the typical sweet of the Easter tradition: a kind of sweet bread with eggs.

The Cuddura has as its meaning the 'abundance. Represented by the basic ingredient which is flour, it has as an omen to bless fertility which is instead represented by eggs.In the past, the Cuddura sweet was given to children at Easter time, while currently this custom has been lost and in its place chocolate eggs are bought.

03-04/04/2024 - LEQUILE

The festival takes place in Dragoni, a hamlet of Lequile a town in the province of Lecce, and is an ancient tradition linked to the devotion that the agricultural community of this town has, towards Our Lady of the Star. Every year on the Wednesday after Easter the miracle of the rain is remembered, which many years ago after a year of drought risked damaging the crops of this agricultural community of Lequile.

It will be narrated that "When the simulacrum of the Virgin returned to the church it began to rain and the crops of the farmers of Lequile and its surroundings were saved."

23/04/2024 - MATINO

The festivities for the Patron Saint of Matino, St. George, are very heartfelt and last a week, precisely from April 19 to 26.

Beginning at noon on the morning of April 23 in Matino, There is a solemn procession for the blessing of the fields, as a sign of good omen for future harvests.

Since 1867 the small town of Matino (Lecce), has celebrated its Patron Saint St. George for saving the community from a terrible plague epidemic.

24/04/2024 - CASTRO

In Castro, from April 24 to 26 the Feast of Our Lady of the Annunciation is celebrated, with a procession on the sea and fireworks over the water.

It represents the main event of the town of Castro and is a patronal feast completely in honor of Mary Most Holy Annunciation.

On the evening of April 24 there is a fireworks competition followed by the "fish festival in sarsa".

29/04/2024 - VERNOLE

In Acquarica di Lecce, a hamlet of Vernole, from April 29 to May 1, the appointment with the Purpetta Fair and Festival is renewed.

It is a gastronomic fair in which the main protagonists are of course "le purpette," in Italian meatballs, but there is also no shortage of stands for tasting the various products and dishes of Salento cuisine.

The fair is held on April 29/30 and May 1 in Acquarica di Lecce, and during the festival there are folk dances and lots of fun.

07/05/2024 - MAGLIE 

In Maglie, for three days, from May 7th until 10th, the patronal feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated.

It is an essentially religious feast, the first day of the festival, in fact, opens with the image of the saint being carried in procession through the streets of the town, together with the statues of Our Lady of Grace and St. Oronzo, being the other patron saints of Maglie, preceding him, opening the procession.

The second day of the Feast of St. Nicholas in Maglie (Lecce) is marked by the solemn mass in honor of St. Nicholas, which is celebrated in the town's main square.

There are also numerous flag concerts; this day reaches its climax in the evening with fireworks that light up the Maglie night sky.

The last day of celebrations of the Feast of St. Nicholas in Maglie (Lecce), is the day of thanksgiving.

People continue to be seen visiting the statue of the saint, placed in the Pizza Principale, Piazza Aldo Moro, and the notes of music played by various groups resound in the air.

02-04/06/2024 - LEVERANO 

In the Historic Center of Leverano, in May, the Municipality of Leverano, with the help of the ProLoco and with the Floriculturists Association, organizes "Leverano in Fiore."

It is a real floral art exhibition.

A nice opportunity to admire the beautiful flowers grown in Leverano (province of Lecce).

The blooms are composed by the floriculturists and floral decorators of this Salento town. 

Leverano in Bloom welcomes tourists and visitors with a triumph of colors and scents of flowers that are hosted by the typical courtyards of the town's historic buildings.

26/05/2024 - LEVERANO

In Leverano every 4th Sunday in May, the Cherry Festival is held.

In Salento dialect it is called the "Fera ti li cerasi" and is an event linked to the Feast of Our Lady of Consolation.

In addition to the religious celebration and the gastronomic festival, there is also a fair-market of animals with livestock and farmyard animals.

At the Cherry Festival, many other seasonal fruits are displayed in the characteristic streets and stalls of Leverano (Lecce).

01-03/06/2024 - ALLISTE

In Felline, a small hamlet of Alliste, near Ugento (Lecce), the infiorata dedicated in Honor of Corpus Christi takes place.

Initially the infiorata was composed of a few very simple wildflowers, mostly with a Eucharistic theme, but then over the years, images of various kinds are present on the floral carpet.

We invite you to visit the hamlet of Felline and enjoy the colors of its Infiorata.

20/06/2024 - CALIMERA

The Festival of the Streetlights takes place every year in Calimera until June 21.

With the occasion of the feast of St. Louis in Calimera there is also a particularly colorful festival called the festival of street lamps.

Lamps are built in a wide variety of shapes, some of which can reach a considerable size.

During the days of the Feast of St. Louis in Calimera, these luminous sculptures are hung in the streets of the historic center, creating a wonderful atmosphere, enlivened by the ever-present traditional music, the pizzica, which is also sung and played spontaneously by those who, armed with tambourines, stroll through the feast.

During the Feast of St. Louis and the Lampions in Calimera there are also stands with typical Salento food products that attract tourists in the area and in nearby seaside resorts such as Torre dell'Orso.

04-07/07/2024  - CASTRO

Castro Wine Fest is a festival of Salento's excellent wines, held in the historic center of Castro marina, on the Salento Adriatic coast.

The event takes place in the summer.It is a welcome appointment for Salento wineries and for all those who love the world of wine.

A gastronomic itinerary that runs through the entire picturesque old town of Castro, with its terrace of the Aragonese Castle and panoramic view of the bay, places that historically hosted the ancient temple of Minerva.

28/07/2024 - SANTA CESAREA TERME

The Blue Night in Santa Cesarea Terme is an event that invites hundreds of tourists on vacation in Salento, in this wonderful location on the Adriatic coast.

The Blue Night is an event that gathers in one NIGHT so many suggestions, scents, flavors, sounds and cultural encounters.

So many contaminations of our Salento land, and so much fun on the waterfront of the resort.

15/07/2024 - OTRANTO

OJF Otranto Jazz Festival is a summer event held in various locations in the city.

July 15, 16 and 17, 2022 are the dates of the festival that will see jazz musicians in Piazza ai Caduti, along the Lungomare degli Eroi, in Otranto.

Internationally renowned jazz musicians will be present for a three-day music-filled event in Otranto.

23/07/2024 - ACQUARICA DEL CAPO

Where: Antica masseria Celsorizzo Acquarica del capo.

On July 23 and 24, 2022, Acquarica del Capo (Lecce) will host the Festa del Grano (Grain Festival).

Every year thousands of visitors dive into Salento traditions both through typical gastronomic products and traditional music.

A route that winds among numerous straw installations, a tribute to the main subject of this festival, wheat precisely.

The culinary tradition is flanked by the musical tradition through a program full of events and performances throughout the duration of the event

Lots of guests, including international ones, every year cheer up these summer evenings of tourists and citizens.

26/07/2024 - MARTANO

"Open Courtyards" is an event dedicated to the recovery of the architectural memory of Martano: one of the most evocative towns in Salento.Martano, in the heart of Salento's Grecìa region, preserves the double soul of a lost language, the griko, handed down by the elderly and spoken in the old courtyard houses.Every year in July, the municipality of Martano organizes the event Open Courtyards and proudly displays its urban heritage made up of typical Martano and Salento courtyard houses, gates and dwellings.

01/08/2024 - MAGLIE

The Taste Market in Maglie is an event of excellent culinary quality in Salento.

In this event, Maglie from August 1 is transformed into a huge food market, where you can taste excellent quality bico, produced at kilometer zero from the gastronomic companies of the Salento, Apulia and Southern Italy territory.

At the Taste Market in Maglie, one can find a showcase of the best fruits of the Apulian land, with its smells and flavors.

Typical Salento dishes reveal many aspects of the area's culture, and you can also enjoy excellent Salento craft beer.

But in addition to Beer, you can taste good wine, oil, street food, cheeses, cold cuts, all kinds of sweets and ice cream, fruits and vegetables, and fried fish and meat.

These are just some of the ingredients of the rich menu you can find by attending the Mercatino del Gusto in Maglie, Salento.

02/08/2024 - ZOLLINO

Every year between August 2 and 3 (usually in the first week of August) in Zollino the Sagra della "Sceblasti" is held.

The "Sceblasti" is a typical product of Zollino (Lecce) prepared with different ingredients, such as: flour, zucchini, olives, onion, pumpkin, oil and salt.

It is a kind of unleavened flatbread, its name translated from Griko, means without shape, is baked on stone in wood-fired ovens.

The Sagra della Sceblasti takes place in three squares in the town of Zollino (Lecce): the main square, Piazza Sant'Anna and Piazza dei Caduti, and is eaten among traditional courtyard houses and typical

02/08/2024 - GIURDIGNANO

The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is a religious event held on the first Sunday of October each year in Giurdignano (Lecce)There are stalls selling typical products, meat and Salento goodness.

04/08/2024 - MELENDUGNO

Where: Near the sports field

From August 4th to 8th, 2022, the appointment is renewed in Melendugno with the Sagra te lu Purpu.

A culinary event also attended by the many vacationers who during the day flock to the beautiful marinas of Melendugno.

The Sagra de lu Purpu in Melendugno (Lecce) is full of stands with all the typical products of Salento, all to be tasted accompanied with the inevitable "mieru," the wine of Salento.

10/08/2024 - CANNOLE

An incredible gastronomic experience that revolves around the municeddha and leads through the paths of tradition to tell the story of Cannole and its territory, typical cuisine and identity products, the beauty of the places and the uniqueness of its essence.

To honor the municeddha and emphasize the link of the Festa della Municeddha with the territory and its traditions, thanks to the collaboration with the company De Cagna Luminarie, the municeddha luminaria was born.

The luminarias will also be on sale on the website and social channels of Festa della Municeddha and everyone will be able to reserve their own luminaria to experience and remember the atmosphere of the Festa in their own homes as well.

16/08/2024 - DISO

Where: Piazza San Giovanni Bosco

The Feast of the Fig, returns to be a sweet event in Salento, in the town of Marittima, a hamlet of Diso (Lecce), on the Salento Adriatic coast, near Castro marina.

The claim of the Feast of the Fig in Marittima is:

"u fruttu chiu duce è propriou la fica"

This Salento feast, takes place on Aug. 16 in the setting of the beautiful town of Marittima, a hamlet of Diso, in the province of Lecce.

24/08/2024 - LECCE

From August 24 to 26, the Feast of Saint Oronzo is celebrated in Lecce.

On the occasion of the solemn Feast of Saint Oronzo in Lecce, Saints Justus and Fortunatus are also celebrated, and a typical and tasty Salento gastronomic tradition recurs, where typical dishes are prepared for this typically Leccean feast.

The August 24 - 25 and 26 patronal feast of St. Oronzo in Lecce, which changes its program of events every year according to the provisions of the Municipality of Lecce and by the Patronal Feasts Committee, offers many fine opportunities to have fun while strolling through the city streets of the Salentine capital.

27/08/2024 - MELPIGNANO

Where: Piazzale Ex Convento Degli Agostiniani

The big concert of the Notte della Taranta 2022, will be held on August 27 in Melpignano (Lecce) at the Piazzale Ex Convento degli Agostiniani.

It will be broadcast on Rai 1 on a delayed basis on Sept. 1 at 11:15 p.m.

The Notte della Taranta is a popular music festival in Salento, taking place with a series of concerts in Salento Greece, and with a final mega concert in the town of Melpignano, in the province of Lecce.

The Notte della Taranta has a program that varies from year to year, and is held throughout the month of August, and generally closes in late August with the concertone in Melpignano in Salento Greece.

The Concertone is held in the town of Melpignano (Lecce) at the Ex Convento dei Padri Agostiniani area, and the dates change from year to year.

It is a festival of the Salento Pizzica in the traditional sense, which, however, is "contaminated" by the rhythms of other musical genres, and also with the help of the Taranta folk music orchesta.

06/09/2024 - BISCEGLIE (BA) 

You can enjoy a program of film screenings that are presented at the Salento International FILM Festival.

This event, is the feather in the cap for local and international cinematography, directors and filmmakers from all over the world come together to let the public appreciate their Films or short films.

13/10/2024 - MARTANO

On Oct. 13-14-15 and 16, Martano will host the "Sagra de la Volia Cazzata," or, the Festival of the Crushed Olive.

This Sagra del Salento, originated inside the Nuova Generazione olive press in Martano, but later turned into a popular festival with the meaning of good omen for the olive harvest.

Over the years it has changed several venues, but there has never been a shortage of not only the tasting of these "cazzate" olives, but also the various typical dishes of peasant cuisine, such as chicories with legumes and horse bits.

This Sagra della Volia Cazzata in Martano is twinned with the Festa del Risotto in Villimpenta, a town in the province of Mantua.

In this mouth-watering Sagra, in fact, the flavors of Salento come together with the decidedly more northern flavors of Lambrusco, polenta, and cured meats from Mantua.

Also in this culinary Sagra della Volia Cazzata in Martano (Lecce), as usual, you cannot miss the typical music of the pizzica that with its sound invades the festive area.

For New Year's Eve, Lecce is able to offer many events and shows, transforming itself into a place dedicated to fun, good Italian food and culture. Every year this beautiful Baroque city makes its magnificent and charming historic center available to tourists and residents, the scene of parties, gatherings and musical shows until late at night. As proof of the interest aroused by Lecce during New Year's Eve, one should always book well in advance, as the city is literally stormed by thousands of people, often causing hotels, spas, restaurants and clubs to sell out. There is always a wide variety on offer for New Year's Eve to please everyone, from teens to families with young children. The first New Year's Eve tradition involves an old custom still in vogue today, especially downtown, of getting rid of everything no longer needed. It is not uncommon to see plates, glasses and various pots and pans flying from the balcony, so around midnight it is best to stay away from balconies and windows and take refuge in one of the many local venues. The most popular event is certainly the concert in Libertini Square, located between the Post Office building and the Castle of Charles V, which is attended by thousands of people in the mood to party and dance.