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Baroque Churches

Visit the baroque churches of Lecce where the dozens of ornate interiors packed into the historic center represent the greatest concentration of Leccese baroque sacred art in existence, the gilded altars, the papier mache statues, and the stone-carved decorations of each church telling a distinct story of Baroque Apulian patronage.

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1
Chiesa dei Santi Nicolo e Cataldo
Visit the Church of Saints Nicolo and Cataldo outside the city walls where the Norman church founded in 1180 by the Crusader count Tancred of Lecce represents the oldest ecclesiastical architecture in the city, the Norman-Romanesque portal and the rose window surviving within the later baroque additions to the facade.
2
Sant Irene
Enter the Church of Sant Irene where the broad single-nave interior is filled with the papier mache altarpieces created by the Lecce craftspeople in the 17th century, the altars representing the different guilds and confraternities who competed to commission the most impressive devotional art for the side chapels.
3
Gesu Church
See the Jesuit Church of the Gesu where the Jesuit order built one of their finest southern Italian churches in Lecce with the signature counter-reformation interior of theatrical lighting, rich materials, and the dramatic use of marble, the church now functioning as the main cultural exhibition space in the city.
4
San Matteo
Study the facade of San Matteo, the church that demonstrates the mature Leccese baroque in its most sophisticated form where the convex and concave surfaces of the facade create a dynamic architectural composition unparalleled in southern Italy, the church a demonstration that Lecce baroque can compete with any European baroque tradition.
5
Cathedral Crypt
Descend to the crypt of the Lecce Cathedral where the forest of columns supporting the cathedral floor above creates the most atmospheric underground space in the city, the Byzantine frescoes surviving in the crypt representing the pre-baroque artistic tradition of the Lecce area before the 17th century transformation of the city.
6
Night Churches
Experience the baroque churches of Lecce at night when the theatrical lighting of the historic center illuminates the ornate facades from below, the pietra leccese carvings creating shadows and highlights that reveal details invisible in daylight and the deserted piazzas allowing the full theatrical quality of the Leccese baroque to be appreciated.