Nestled on the heel of the Italian Peninsula, Lecce used to be one of Italy’s best-kept secrets.
But the city’s rich baroque history and its culinary delicacies – wine and olive oil among them – have turned the Florence of the South into an increasingly popular tourist destination.
Football may not be Lecce’s main calling card, but the Stadio Via del Mare deserves to be ticked off the list of any self-respecting football anorak, if only for curiosity purposes alone.
How many Italian stadiums can claim to have been inaugurated with a friendly against a Soviet team and to have hosted Pele’s Santos?
Via del Mare ticks both boxes, with a friendly between Lecce and Spartak Moscow marking the stadium’s opening in 1966, before Santos visited the following year.
Located on Lecce’s north-eastern edge, Via del Mare replaced the city’s old Stadio Carlo Pranzo and initially held just over 16,000 spectators.
A decade later, capacity was increased by 10,000 before the ground underwent a complete overhaul in 1985 to mark Lecce’s maiden promotion to Serie A.
But despite a 55,000-capacity, Via del Mare was overlooked in the run-up to Italia ‘90, with organisers opting instead to build a brand new stadium in Bari, which served as Apulia’s only host city during the World Cup.
As Lecce’s fortunes ebbed and flowed over the past two decades, capacity has since been reduced to 29,000, but Via del Mare remains an imposing ground by Serie A standards.
This season (2024-25), the club set a season ticket holder record with 21,726 fans attaining memberships. In turn, home match attendances are averaging 26,433.
Stadio Via del Mare factfile
Capacity: 29,000 comfortably
• Club: Lecce
• Opened: 1966
• Address: Via del Mare, 73100 Lecce
How to get to the Stadio Via del Mare
Via del Mare is located on Lecce’s north-eastern edge, approximately two miles from the city centre and just under three miles from Lecce’s main train station.
The stadium lies just within Lecce’s ringroad and is relatively easy to access both by car and public transport.
From Lecce’s Old Town
There are three different bus routes connecting Lecce’s old town to the stadium. The S16 bus from Costa stop towards San Cataldo takes eight stops to the Liberta’-Roma stop followed by a 10-minute walk. From the same stop, you can also take the R4 bus towards P.Le Cuneo, which is a 12-stop journey followed by a 10-minute walk. Meanwhile, taking the R5 bus towards Piazza M.T. Calcutta is a 12-stop journey to Piazza Napoli stop, followed by a 15-minute walk.
From Lecce main train station
The M1 bus connects Lecce’s train station with the old town, so you can hop on in the direction of the City Terminal, then get off at Battisti stop and from there use the S16, R4 or R5 bus as explained in more detail in the section above.
With Stadio in Bus
Stadio in Bus – a special shuttle service connecting Via del Mare with Lecce’s town centre – operates from three hours before kick-off and after the final whistle – it does not run during the game.
Shuttle buses run every 10 minutes and public transport tickets are valid on the Stadio in Bus service. The complete list of stops can be found here.
How to buy public transport tickets
A single ticket on public transport costs €1 or €1.50 if bought on board, while a daily ticket costs €2.50. All tickets must be validated from the time of first use and single tickets are valid for 90 minutes from the time of validation.
Public transport tickets in Lecce are available at authorised outlets as well as at the City Terminal in Viale Porta d’Europa.
Tickets can also be bought through the TicketAppy, MooneyGo and Drop Ticket apps, all of which can be downloaded on Apple Store and Google Play.
As mentioned above, tickets can be bought on board, albeit for a higher price.
How to drive to Via del Mare
The ground is approximately a 15-minute cab journey from both Lecce’s main train station and the town’s international airport.
The stadium is located just inside the boundaries of Lecce’s ring road, so if you’re driving to the ground take exit 7A and follow the signs towards Via del Mare.
There are car parks around the ground, which can be found on Lecce’s official website.
How to buy Lecce tickets
Tickets can be bought online via Vivaticket or in person at the Vivaticket sales points or at the ticket office at the stadium, where they are also available on matchday.
