Lecce

Lecce (Italian: [ˈlettʃe] or locally [ˈlɛttʃe]; Sicilian: Lecci, Griko: Luppìu, Latin: Lupiae, Ancient Greek: Ἀλήσιον) is a historic city of 93,300 inhabitants (2013) in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the third province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Apulia. It is the main city of the Salentine Peninsula, a sub-peninsula at the heel of the Italian Peninsula and is over 2,000 years old.

Because of the rich Baroque architectural monuments found in the city, Lecce is commonly nicknamed "The Florence of the South". The city also has a long traditional affinity with Greek culture going back to its foundation; the Messapii who founded the city are said to have been Cretans in Greek records. To this day, in the Grecìa Salentina, a group of towns not far from Lecce, the griko language is still spoken.

In terms of industry the "Lecce stone" is the city's main export, because it is very soft and workable, thus suitable for sculptures. Lecce stone is a kind of limestone. Lecce is also an important agricultural centre, chiefly for its olive oil and wine production, as well as an industrial centre specializing in ceramic production.

U.S. Lecce

Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply US Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce. Currently it plays in the Italian Lega Pro after the relegation from Serie A in the 2011–12 season to Serie B and the sentence of the Federal Court of Justice that excluded the team from the Serie B and relegated to the lower division, due of its involvement in Scommessopoli scandal.

The club was formed in 1908 and has spent a large part of their recent history bouncing between Italy's second division and Serie A, where the team gained its first promotion in 1985.

History

Lecce was founded as Sporting Club Lecce on 15 March 1908, initially including football, track-and-field and cycling sports. The first club president was Francesco Marangi. The first colours worn by Lecce during this time were black and white stripes, known in Italy as bianconeri.

In its formative years, Lecce played in mostly regional leagues and competitions. During the 1923/24 season the club broke up, before coming back on 16 September 1927 as Unione Sportiva Lecce. The club were still wearing black and white stripes (similar to Juventus) at this point, and the first president under the name Unione Sportiva Lecce was Luigi Lopez y Rojo.