The History

The Municipal Historical Archive of Lecce was established in 1897, the result of Mayor Giuseppe Pellegrino’s vision and the dedicated work of Luigi Botrugno and his collaborators. From the very beginning, it became a point of reference for the city’s history. Among the necessary and periodic reorganisation efforts in the years that followed, special mention goes to the work of Doria Pastore of Naples, then Director of the State Archive.

The Archive preserves the city’s documentary sources across centuries of change — from administrative acts and ancient parchments to the recent, wide-ranging project of reorganisation and digitisation.

Originally housed in the former Olivetan Convent, the Archive was later moved to the Castle of Charles V, then to the Margherita Institute, and subsequently to premises in the Castromediano district. Thanks to the “Archive and the City” project, it has now found its permanent home in the prestigious setting of the former Augustinian Convent, where it is currently open for consultation.

The earliest document attesting to the existence of Lecce’s civic archive is a stone inscription, dated 10 October 1738, now preserved and on display at the former Augustinian Convent. It records the presence of a space, though not precisely identified, expressly designated for the permanent preservation of the documents produced and acquired by the University of Lecce — the institution that preceded today’s Municipality.

Browse the timeline below to explore the Archive’s most important milestones.