Once a convent, the Palazzo dei Celestini is also known as the Palazzo del Governo (Government Palace) and is now the seat of the Prefecture and the Province of Lecce.
Palazzo dei Celestini is the former convent of the Celestine Fathers, who lived here for three centuries until the Napoleonic suppression in 1807, when the monks were removed and the building became the seat of the Intendancy of Terra d’Otranto.
Adjacent to the basilica of Santa Croce, the palace is in a particularly strategic central position thanks to the double access from via Umberto I and viale XXV Luglio.
The architectural structure still preserves the plastic elements of the original work in the linear and sumptuous ashlar of the façade. The façade, made lively by the decorations carved in the stone, especially in the window frames on the two orders, gradually opens up to innovations typical of the Rococo style.
The elegant decoration on via Umberto I joins harmoniously with that of the various neighbouring buildings, offering one of the most suggestive spectacles of the city.
