Built in 1568 by architect Gabriele Riccardi as requested by the Genoese Gabriele Adorno (general of the imperial navy of Charles V ), the palace is one of the most famous in the city. The building features an asymmetric smoothly rusticated façade, except the atrium characterized by a spearhead pattern. Anthropomorphic sculptures and decorations are present in the entrance hall with geometric and floral shapes on the capitals, in the archways and in the loggia.

Palazzo Adorno is one of the most valuable pieces of architecture and sculpture of the sixteenth century in Lecce. On the façade is still the crest of the family Personè that lived for a period in the palace. Later the building was transferred to the Provincial Administration of Lecce, which has made it its headquarters. 
The ground floor has been renovated and now it is used for cultural events.