[July 2026] After visiting a beautiful church in Galatina—a town in the Salento region of Apulia, southern Italy—we had lunch at a restaurant outside of the town.
However, I’m skipping the details of that meal because the wait was incredibly long and the food wasn’t particularly good.
I think one downside of Apulia’s rise in international popularity is that businesses can get by even without offering high quality.
Anyway, after returning to Lecce—where we were staying—and taking care of errands like grocery shopping and getting my husband a haircut, we went for a stroll and found ourselves at the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square).
By the way, you should be aware that shops in this area often have late afternoon opening times, frequently not opening until 5:00 PM.
There was a tourist information office facing the square; seeing information about guided tours, we decided to step inside.
Tours run daily starting at 11:00 AM, but they are conducted only in Italian.
That said, I did see other operators in town offering tours in English and other languages.
The tourist information office also sold tickets to climb the cathedral’s bell tower, so we decided on the spur of the moment to give it a try.
At €12 per person, I thought it was a bit pricey.
However, when I asked AI about it, I learned that the proceeds go to a “social cooperative” partnered with the Archdiocese of Lecce, funding the maintenance of cultural sites like the church.
Now that the area has become a major tourist destination, public institutions are likely capitalizing on that success.
The bell tower of the Lecce Cathedral stands 70 metres tall, offering a perfect vantage point for the view.
Plus, there’s a lift, so the ascent is effortless.
The bell tower itself was reportedly built over the course of 21 years in the 17th century, but it wasn’t until 2022 that a lift was installed, allowing everyone to go up.
The view was certainly very good, but to be honest, it wasn’t breathtaking enough to leave me truly impressed.
After all, the surrounding area is flat and lacks undulation, so the scenery isn’t particularly dramatic.
About the only things that stood out were the rows of wind turbines visible in the distance and the people lounging on what appeared to be a hotel rooftop directly below.
After coming down, we wandered around looking for a place to have an aperitivo.
There were plenty of such establishments, but we walked around relying on my husband’s “sixth sense” to decide which one looked promising.
In the end, we settled on a spot just as I was getting tired and starting to complain.
There was no seating available indoors, so we sat at an outdoor table and ordered Spritzes and a *tagliere* (charcuterie/cheese board).
The *tagliere* was a bit disappointing in terms of content.
Paying €33 for two Spritzes and that board felt steep.
It made me hope that the town in Northern Italy where we live never turns into a tourist destination.
