All of the magnificent baroque architecture here in Lecce is built with a type of limestone they call Lecce stone. When it is new, it is white-to-honey colored and incredibly beautiful. If you remember when I talked about the sculptor whose studio we visited earlier and how he worked the stone with woodworking tools, you can probably imagine how soft the stone actually is. You can literally dig into it with your fingernail. That characteristic makes it easy to carve the intricate detail visible everywhere here. It also makes it extremely vulnerable to the elements.
I cannot walk around the city without being struck by how the stone in places just seems to be melting away. The erosion is definitely worse near the street, making me believe the acid from automobiles splashed up on the walls quickens the process, but you can also see the damage high up on the buildings where the stone is out of reach of the spray from the street.
Reading up on the subject, I have found there is a push to preserve the monuments and architecture and it really kicked into gear about 20 years ago. But much of the damage has been done.