MUST - Museo Storico della Citta di Lecce

The MUST, Lecce's museum of the city's history, occupies the former Convent of Santa Chiara, once home to the Poor Clares for more than four centuries. Its rooms bring together municipal art, archaeology and contemporary exhibitions, tracing Lecce from its Messapian past to the present.

Why it matters

The museum, established by the Comune di Lecce in 2015, gathers elements of the city's history that extend beyond its Baroque landmarks. The former convent was later used by state institutions before the municipality acquired and restored it as a cultural venue. Its lime-white walls and vaulted ceilings now frame collections that connect the city's early history with its civic art and contemporary culture.

What to notice

The ground floor includes the Off-Gallery, a space for exhibitions by local and emerging artists, and a multimedia room with three-dimensional virtual tours of city monuments. On the first floor, a sculpture display is dedicated to Salento artist Cosimo Carlucci. The Galleria Civica presents figurative works from the Terra d'Otranto, dating from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The archaeological exhibition Il Leccio e la Lupa is organised around Messapian, Roman and medieval periods, adding context to the amphitheatre and theatre elsewhere in the city.

Context and history

The convent adjoining the church of Santa Chiara passed from religious use into institutional hands after the nineteenth-century suppressions. The Comune di Lecce acquired and restored the complex for cultural use, and established the Museo Storico della Città there in 2015. The museum combines the city's municipal art collections with archaeological displays and a programme of temporary exhibitions.