Located just a few meters from the Arc de Triomphe and in the center of the Viale degli Studenti, the Lecce Obelisk was erected in 1822, designed by Luigi Cipolla, by the Salento sculptor Vito Carluccio, in honor of Ferdinand I of Bourbon.

The Obelisk is decorated on all four sides with some bas-relief figures, including at the bottom the dolphin biting the Turkish crescent, which symbolizes the victory against the Turks. A curious episode concerns this obelisk: Bourbon propaganda had it painted black, so that it would resemble a marble obelisk, but the first rain washed away any trace of the color.