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This page collects some information about the Conference location and its surroundings. Please refer to Raffaele Vitolo raffaele dot vitolo at unile dot it for questions/comments.
The organizing committe has arranged a conference shuttle service. On 2 June the shuttle will leave Brindisi airport to Lecce train station, and then go ahead to Hotel Daniela; on 9 June it will run in the opposite direction.
THE SCHEDULE IS HERE. The participants are divided into the different shuttles according with their arrivals/departures. We did our best to minimize the waiting time for the participants, please send any comments/remarks to raffaele dot vitolo at unile dot it. Note that in the morning of 2 June several people will arrive much earlier than the departure of the first conference shuttle. We suggest to those people to leave their bags at the baggage store area at Lecce Train station and enjoy a visit of Lecce until the first conference shuttle starts.
The FEE for the conference shuttle is 15EUR per passenger per run, either from Brindisi airport or from Lecce train station.
If you are not satisfied with the conference shuttle service, you might arrange a personal transfer through Hotel Daniela. For your information you could see 2005's prices in this document
Note for the stranded: should you get stranded somewhere between Brindisi and Lecce (e.g., due to flight or train delays), please refer to Hotel Daniela's desk (+39) 0836 806648. They would be ready to arrange a private transfer for you, or to put you in contact with one of the organizers.
Hotel Daniela is situated in Conca Specchiulla, 12km (or about 7 miles) North of Otranto along the coast of the Adriatic sea.
To reach Hotel Daniela from Lecce (45Km) you might take the Conference bus
from Lecce train station. There is no public transport to Hotel Daniela
before 15 June 2007 (the start of the high season).
However, you can reach Otranto by a local train (there is also a bus connection but traveling
by train will be much more practical) whose schedule can be found here http://www.fseonline.it/ (also in
English); on the way you will have to change trains once at the
station of Maglie. There is no public transportation from Otranto to Conca Specchiulla
in the low season, so you will need call a taxi (0832 804688, no English, be prepared to do
your business in the local dialect) or call Hotel Daniela, the employees should be able
to help you.
If you travel by car via the freeway from Brindisi,
you should not enter Lecce (unless you wish to visit it) but take the
eastern branch of the bypass which circles around Lecce (`tangenziale est'). After
a few kilometers you will see a detour to San Cataldo. Follow it for
5-6km and you will come to yet another detour on your right-hand side continuing to Otranto.
At this point you will be driving along a coastal road, and after about 15km (after driving through
a few villages, the biggest one of which is
Torre dell'Orso) you will see signs for Hotel Daniela which will be on your left-hand side.
A map of Lecce can be found here. More generally, maps of all cities in Italy can be found at the website http://mappe.alice.it/ (simply enter the city name in the field `Città').
The Department of Mathematics of the University of Salento (formerly known as University of Lecce) has an agreement with Hotel Tiziano for discounted rooms (a single room is 50EUR/night), but the reservation must be done by an employee of the University of Lecce (you may send email to this effect to Raffaele Vitolo, raffaele dot vitolo at unile dot it). The hotel is within a 10 min. walk from the city center.
Grand Hotel TIZIANO e dei Congressi (****)
Superstrada per Brindisi - 73100 Lecce (Italy)
WEB: http://www.grandhoteltiziano.it/
TEL. +39 0832 272111 - FAX :+39 0832 272841
NOTE: There are many other hotels in Lecce, but you might find it much more enjoyable to stay in one the numerous Bed & Breakfast hotels in Centro Storico. The cost of a room in a B & B will be more or less the same as in Tiziano Here you can find a list. A couple of recommended ones are Centro Storico, B & B Lecce , Volte a Sud. But be aware that the historical center abounds with restaurants, pubs, and people, so it can get quite noisy there even in the middle of the night.
Note: we are organizing two Excursions in the free day, see below.
Lecce is a relatively small city (100.000 inhabitants),
and is located in the South-East of the Apulia region (Puglia in
Italian). This part of Italy (the heel of the boot, in the classical
picture) is nowadays called Salento, and includes the areas of Lecce,
Brindisi and part of the area of Taranto.
Archaeological findings in Salento date back to 3000 BC, and many of them
have been found close to
Otranto. The first to populate the area were the Messapi, a people of
unknown origin. There existed also an important Greek colony on the coast,
in the city of Gallipoli; it is believed that Otranto was also founded by the Greeks.
Salento was conquered by Romans, who defeated Messapi in 268 BC. Brindisi
became the most important city in the region, being the first Roman harbor on
the route to the Middle East and the endpoint of the first Roman road (Via Appia).
Several Roman ruins can be found in Lecce, among which the most important ones are
a theatre and an amphitheatre.
Lecce lost its importance with the fall of the Roman Empire, after having been
sacked by Totila in 549. Under the Bizantine empire Otranto was the most
important city in the region, and Salento was called `Terra d'Otranto' until the end of
Middle Ages.
In 1069 Lecce was conquered by Normans, then it passed under the rule of Federico II di
Svevia, and, after a number of battles, it became part of the Naples' Kingdom
in 1643. Salento also suffered from continuous invasions from the sea,
mostly by the forces of the Ottoman Empire. As an early warning system,
a series of watch towers were built along the coast during the Middle Ages, some
of which are located close to the conference site.
The ecomonics of the region started to improve during the XVI and
XVII centuries. Several baroque monuments were built in Salento, the most
beautiful ones of which can be found in Lecce. The name `Barocco
Leccese' indicates the architectonic style that characterized that
historical period.
Nowadays Lecce is a very peaceful, old city, and full of historic
landmarks. The visit of Lecce will be of interest to those who love art and
culture. We suggest to the interested readers to follow the links below
to find out more about Lecce and its surroundings.
Otranto is the easternmost city in Italy located
45 km from Lecce. During the middle ages it was one of the most important
cities in Apulia, and the capital of Salento.
The Duomo of Otranto is a Romanic church (Romanic was an architectural
style of the middle ages in Italy. It disappeared with the arrival of
the Gothic style, which reached Italy relatively late).
The floor of Duomo of Otranto is covered by a mosaic which dates back to 1170 and
is a real masterpiece.
Otranto was sieged and conquered in 1480 by troops of the Ottoman Empire.
The mummified corpses of the 800 defenders who died during the siege are still
preserved and can be viewed by the public in a chapel in the Duomo. Moreover,
the city itself is strewn with large round stone projectiles the attackers used against
the defenders.
Also of interest are the byzantine church, the Museo Diocesano,
and the Castle. The latter gave inspiration to the novel `The Castle of Otranto'
by H. Walpole, a classic among the Gothic Novel genre.
We will organize two excursions for the free afternoon of 6 June 2007. A fee will be collected to cover the expenses. We are working to keep the fee as low as possible; the final cost will also depend on the number of participants.
The registration to the trips will open 2 June 2007 and close 3 June 2007.
Afew links are in English; much more information can be found in Italian.
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