Palazzo Bernardini

Palazzo Bernardini, a historic palace in Lecce

Located in the heart of the historic center of Lecce, fifty meters from the Cathedral, Palazzo Bernardini is an exclusive noble residence of Renaissance origin.

The rooms with vaulted and barrel vaults have been expertly restored, respecting the tradition, furnished with antique furniture and carpets and decorated with great attention to detail.

Guests have at their disposal inside the building elegant suites and ample and bright apartments, the ideal choice for those who want stay in a place of particular charm in Lecce.

This authentic noble palace combines the local tradition with the modernity of services, combining the charm of the past with the most modern comforts.

Palazzo Bernardini also boasts an antique indoor garden, enlivened by fragrant flowers and ancient trees, including a majestic tree of nineteenth-century Araucaria and an age-old Wisteria. The garden is available to guests of our suites for breakfast and relaxation in the scent of flowers.

Historical and architectural information

The Palace is the result of the fusion of three buildings, the oldest of Renaissance origin, merged by the Mandoj family on the occasion of the marriage of their only daughter Aurelia with Raffaele Bernardini Marquis of Arnesano, in the second half of the nineteenth century.

On the main floor, fifteenth-century niches with contemporary frescoes, built-in safes with revolving stone doors, eighteenth-century frescoes and stuccos are the background to the sumptuous furnishings to an ancient library and to the prestigious collection of Neapolitan school cadres of the seventeenth century from the Pinacoteca of the Palazzo Marchesale of Arnesano.

The restorations have preserved the ancient floors among which there is a nineteenth-century mosaic with floral motifs, nineteenth-century Neapolitan majolica and the ancient Paladini Manufacture of San Pietro in Lama with geometric and floral motifs, as well as the basoli floors.

In the rooms on the ground floor - which once housed the carriages are still preserved ancient horse feeders, remains of terracotta water pipes, and an old furnace, while in the basements one was found ancient grain store and various cisterns.

From the windows of the Palazzo façade one can admire the view of the bell tower of the city's cathedral while on the opposite side there is a view of the historic garden bordered by an ancient "bolo" wall.

The garden

The garden, which conserves the oldest Jacaranda in the city and various others nineteenth-century plants, in addition to citrus trees and ornamental plants, it is open once a year, the last Sunday of May, on the occasion of the Open Courts event organized by Associazione Dimore Storiche Italiane in collaboration with the Municipality of Lecce.

The Marchesa Isabelle, widow of Raffaele Bernardini Marquis of Arnesano, has dedicated herself and is still dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of the Palace.

Guest services

Reception from 8: 00 to 23: 00;
Wireless Internet access free throughout the Palazzo;
Air conditioning e Flat screen TV in all suites and apartments;
Permit for passage in the historical center near the Palace;
parking space not bookable and according to daily availability;
Airport shuttle service and station on request;
Breakfast (also for celiac and other food intolerances) served at the desired time in the suite or in the garden;
In the apartment, refueling on request;
Dinners with personalized menu in the historic garden of the Palace;
bicycles courtesy according to availability (not bookable);
Laundry service;
Hairdresser and beautician;
Courtesy cot for children up to three years;
Organization of excursions with a tour guide, and other services;

We also accept payments with credit cards via POS;