Piazza del Duomo at blue hour

Lecce's cathedral square is unlike any other in Italy because it is a courtyard, not a crossroads: buildings close it on three sides and there is only one way in, through a monumental arched gateway. Inside there is no traffic, no through-route and, remarkably for a cathedral square, very little noise.

Everything is built in pietra leccese, a soft golden limestone that carves like wood, so the facades, the bell tower and the bishop's palace are covered in deep relief. Under floodlight at dusk that carving reads as texture in a way flat daylight cannot achieve, and the stone throws warm light back into the middle of the square. Position your subjects near the centre with the fifth-storey bell tower rising behind them, or in the entrance arch with the lit square beyond.

It is public, free, level and open at all hours, with no steps at the entrance — one of the most accessible good locations in southern Italy. Blue hour is short, so arrive with the settings decided. Ten minutes away on foot, Santa Croce and Piazza Sant'Oronzo complete a compact evening circuit, all of it on flat paving.