Pietra Leccese, or Pietra di Lecce, is a cream-coloured, homogeneous, fine-grained limestone.

Similar to the Pietra di Palladio near Vincenza in Veneto, it contains fossil fragments, which makes its surface particularly interesting.

Pietra Leccese is mined in open-pit mines at several locations in Salento, the southern peninsula of Apulia.

Pietra Leccese consists primarily of fine-grained limestone mud and clay minerals, in which fossil fragments of microfossils, and to a lesser extent also of mussels, snails, crinoids, and other marine animals, are embedded.

Pietra Leccese has been used in Apulia for centuries and was an important building material during the Lecce Baroque period, from which countless sculptures were created for palaces and churches.

Pietra di Lecce is initially soft when mined and, due to the clay minerals it contains, is easy to work.

 

Over time, the initially light beige stone hardens increasingly, taking on a slightly darker, honey-coloured hue.

Even though the stone has "hardened," that doesn't mean it will mutate into a hard stone.

It's an ideal stone for beginners because it's significantly softer than, for example, marble, which, is also classified as a soft stone (although some of the participants of my courses don't want to believe it).

I had a palette of Pietra di Lecce blocks delivered from Apulia, which are now waiting to be transformed into works of art.

If you'd like to unleash your undreamed-of creative abilities, the next opportunity is at my "Stone Carving and Dolce Vita" course in Italy.

There are still a few spots available.

Look here for more detailed information on "Stone Carving and Dolce Vita". Click!