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The Stone Ecomuseum of Lecce was established in 2000, aimed at documenting the local stone heritage in history, architecture, culture, economy and traditions.

The “Lecce stone” has always been one of the main local resources, since prehistoric times; several Lecce Baroque styled-monuments, as well as majestic menhirs and dolmen, for instances, were built with that very type of material.

The association in charge of the ecomuseum strives to protect and enhance the very culture of the stone; visitors can thus learn more about the extraction and the processing techniques, the scope of application, and the very extraction activities – educational workshops are also regularly organized.

This ecomuseum also promotes several activities aimed at encouraging the local population to recover some old buildings, disused quarries, and extraction sites, thus turning them into “open-air” classrooms, with exhibitions and educational paths.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)