The Church of Saint John the Baptist is a strong Lecce Baroque stop near Porta Rudiae, with a carved façade that shows how theatrical the city's local stone can become. It is smaller than Santa Croce or the Duomo, but the ornament still has that unmistakable Lecce mixture of softness and excess.
Include it while walking the western side of the old town. The church helps spread your attention beyond the main squares, and it rewards close looking: columns, saints, vegetal carving, and the warm colour of pietra leccese changing with the light.