LECCE, a city of the kingdom of Naples, the capital of the province of Otranto. It stands on an extensive and fertile plain between Bari and Otranto, is surrounded with walls, and is the most regular and one of the most beautiful cities of the south of Italy. The great square contains some magnificent edifices, adorned with valuable statues. It is the seat of a bishop, and of the several provincial courts of law. It contains a cathedral and thirty-two churches, twenty-eight religious houses for both sexes, two Latin schools, and a college for nobles. It has a population of 14,100 persons, some of whom are engaged in cotton manufactures from cotton-wool grown in the vicinity, which is of an excellent quality. Good wine and tobacco are also raised around it. Long. 18. 30. E. Lat. 40. 38. N.