Not to Lecce, but Puglia. In 1994, a friend and I drove from Napoli to Bari and then made day trips from Bari. Most people I knew, including Italians from the region, asked why I went to Bari, but we found it to be an interesting area. Bari itself is a port town, but has some interesting churches. The Adriatic coast is beautiful, and rougher and different from the Tyrhenian coast. One day we drove to Alberobello, the town famous for i Trulli, and had an enjoyable day where even the churches were built in that fashion. Another day we just drove along the coast stopping in some of the little towns to explore. Fred is right--the food is good, and it was, then, an inexpensive part of Italy. We left the car there and flew to Rome because the drive was too long and we did not have much time.

Lisa in Chicago