Art & Architecture of Puglia – Lecce

The forecast on our last day in Puglia is for sunshine. After days of constant rain and drizzle, this feels justified – earned. Our tour, the Art & Architecture of Puglia, concludes tomorrow with an (very) early morning bus ride to the airport in Napoli, so we are determined to make the most of our time in Lecce (pop 94,375 in 2025).

Our first site is practically next door to the hotel, the Basilica di Santa Croce (17th century). Famous as an example of Lecce's Baroque architecture, the facade (digitized here) is essentially divided by a thick trabeazione and balconata, with a distinct tonal change in the stone. Below the balustrade is the dedication: "TEPLUM HOC DEO CRUCIS VEXILLO DICATUM, MDLXXXII" (this is dedicated to God and the standard of the Cross, 1582).

The portals are attributed to Francesco Antonio Zimbalo, while the uppermost timpano is by his grandson Giuseppe Zimbalo. Unusually, the Composite columns stand on plinths turned such that the corners point outward. A giant order, an exaggerated Corinthian (?) with figures and faces twisted into the volutes, support the richly embellished trabeazione. Sandwiched between the cornice and the balconata are squat telamoni and snarling animal figures; the human figures represent the defeated Ottomans and carry the buillding's weight atop the columns. At the center of the balconata is the "Vergine in Trono col Bambino Salvator Mundi" and topped with a putto holding the tiara papale.

The upper facade encases an enormous rosone ringed with angels and floral designs with seed pods. The central column capitals feature symbolic birds: a pelican (God's sacrifice) on the left and an eagle (God's word) on the right. In the fregio, a line of putti holds letters that spell: "DON MATTEO NAP" (Napolitano, the client abbot). The large female figures at either end symbolize virtues, "La Fede e la Fortezza" (faith & fortitude).

 

 

 

 

 

The rusticated facade of the Palazzo dei Celestini (Palazzo dells Provincia, 16th-17th centuries) joins the Basilica and continues the mid-level trabeazione; the Celestine Order is a branch of the Benedictines. The vast complex is home to the offices of the Provincia di Lecce. 

The exuberant capitals with horses and angels in the acanthus leaves play counterpoint to the severity of the rustication. The capitals of the central entrance to the courtyard are a trio of putti, while other putti pull bundles of grapes and swags fruit in the fregio. But each bay is framed by flat-relief flourishes in the corners and around the beveled blocks. Our Tour Director explains that much of this is an echo of an age of Spanish rule (16th to late 17th centuries) – like the plateresco we saw in Salamanca.

Along the upper cornice, gargoyles extended their mouths and serve a similar 'tortured' role as the telamoni, except the 'pressure' here comes from rainwater.

 

 

 

Though there is intense decoration concentrated in the capitals and arches, the interior (virtual tour) is surprisingly reserved. The clean lines of the entablature and the smooth surfaces of the column shafts and the clerestory allow the light to highlight the carvings.

The richly coffered wooden soffito (ceiling) is reminiscent of the one in Otranto. At the center is a painted panel with La Santissima Trinità (Giovanni Grassi, 1833).

After yesterday's technicolor frescos, it's a refreshing change that the architecture and sculpture are the focus: the fanciful capitals, the leafy accents and comical portraits lining the vaults, and the beautifully 'folded' pomegranate tondi near the central dome.

 

 

 

 

The cappella laterale on the Evangelist (north) side is the Cappella di San Francesco da Paola (Francesco Antonio Zimbalo, 1614-15), which matches the exterior with its Baroque energy. Its polyptych framework is expressed in false perspective, with scenes from the life and miracles of the saint. A figure of San Francesco da Paola in the center would have completed the sculptural presentation, but is instead replaced with a portrait (Alessandro Calabrese, 1833) emphasizing another virtue, "CHARITAS".

The inscription above says,"CORONA ISTITIAE FLORENTI SICUT LILIUM" (a crown of flowering inspiration like a lily). "Simboli della Passione di Cristo" flank the top of the altar, angels holding the column, Cross, ladder. etc.

Our Director mentions that the deep-relief, 'cake frosting' flourishes on the columns are reminiscent of the local craft of cartapesta – an incredible effect.

 

 

From Santa Croce, we walk south to the Fontana dell'Armonia (Antonio Mazzotta, 1927) as we wait for the guard to open the Castello Carlo V (16th century). The Fontana is a glimpse of Italy's fascist past (it was inaugurated by Mussolini), while the Castello is roughly contemporary with the beginning of Santa Croce.

From the Castello, we return to the Piazza Sant'Oronzo. The good weather lifts everyone's spirit and there is a cheery openness to our conversations. After a week, we realize this is the first time we've had to walk and chat with ease on dry, flat ground. And along our route, there are construction barriers and digs where old ruins are exposed.

The Anfiteatro Romano (1st-2nd centuries) further stretches our timeline. The Anfiteatro, about half-exposed, is wonderfully integrated into the Piazza, recovering its function as an event space. The 'stage area' occupies the southeastern corner of the Piazza, so we catch the morning shadows.

 

 

 

 

The entrance to the Anfiteatro is behind the west side of "Il Sedile" (16th century), the Gothic-looking glass pavilion enclosing the statue of Sant'Oronzo (c1739). Around the north and west, the Anfiteatro is a field of broken arches and piers, the ruins of a much taller structure.

Access to the 'stage' is down a ramp, through an east-facing tunnel. From this sunken position, we perr up to sunlit the buildings, Il Sedile, and the Colonna di Sant'Oronzo (1666-86) – also the work of Giuseppe Zimbalo.

At the edge of the parapet of the southern stadium seats is a reconstructed frieze of wild animals, which we may imagine springing from the caged openings in the lower wall.

 

 

 

 

 

The stone and brickwork are fascinating, especially the way the diagonally set infill meets the well-preserved ashlars. The views to the city between the forms, and the play of the morning light adds to the dramatic sense of history.

The Chiesa di Santa Maria della Grazia (1585-90) borders the eastern edge. The Istituto Nazionale Assicurazioni (INA, 1938-49), with its Torre dell'Orologio, is the curving block to the northwest. The Banco d'Italia stands to the south, and the 'beanie hat', maiolicata cap of the Campanile del Duomo (Giuseppe Zimbalo, 1661-62) is visible directly west. These blocks and towers provide an entertaining and varied skyline frame.

 

 

 

Before we leave the Piazza Sant'Oronzo, we stop for a closer look at "La Colonna Romana e la Statua del Patrono" (17th century, replaced 18th century). The statue in the Il Sedile is the second, after the first was destroyed in 1737 when it was struck by fireworks during the saint's festival. The current copy on the column is from 2024, so this arrangement is very recent.

From the Piazza, we head northwest to the Porta Napoli (16th century) on the picturesque Via Giuseppe Palmieri. The Porta is broad and imposing, and features the crest of Carlo V, Imperatore dei Romani. The blockwork displays evidence of a week of rain.

Nearby, the tour goes through the lovely and intimate Teatro Paisiello (19th century) and then pauses for a 'loo' break. This provides an opportunity to check out the domed church near the Porta, the Chiesa si Santa Maria della Porta (19th century). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking south on the Via Giuseppe Palmieri, we get a deeper look at the Baroque character of the palazzi and other secular buildings. The Palazzo Palmieri (16th-18th centuries) sits on the corner of the Piazetta Ignazio Falconieri; also, on this Piazetta is the Palazzo Marrese (18th century). An astonishing assortment of human and animal figures support the balconate surrounding the Piazetta. The Via ends in the Piazza del Duomo.

Thus, we approach the Duomo di Lecce (dell'Assunzione della Virgine, 12th-17th centuries) from the north side. Though not the 'front', the Duomo presents an impressive, formal Baroque facade on this side of the Piazza, with the Campanile on the east side. The 'front' facade faces west, truncated on its southern edge by L'Episcopio (15th-18th centuries). It is a awkwardly proportioned temple front sitting on a wide first-story plinth decorated with flat relief 'straps' like the bays of the Palazzo dei Celestini.

 

 

 

 

 

We enter the Duomo and descend directly into La Cripta (12th-16th centuries), perhaps another 'too clean' restoration (reopened 2017). The main altar is a deep vault with a stone table and a Crucifix on the far wall, and incredible stone capitals on single-, double-, and triple-shafted columns. The chapel on the right (south) assembles a dark cross on an old feint fresco, "San Giovanni e la Madonna ai Piedi della Croce" (17th century), and a Baroque enclosure. Next to it is a painted panel with the "Visitazione" in a similar enclosure

The altars on the opposite side feature the patron saint of Lecce, "Sant'Irene" (c1700), with the bell tower and skyline of the town below her, as well as another altar dedicated to "La Madonna del Soccorso".

Behind the Cripta is the Putridarium, an ancient, temporary burial chamber which was 'discovered' during the renovations.

 

 

 

 

 

We ascend to the aisle and approach the main altar; the three sides and the ceiling covered with large canvases. The central image in the ceiling is "La Assunzione di Maria" (Oronzo Tiso, 1757), lit by stained glass in the clerestory. 

The ceiling over the transepts and the nave, as at Santa Croce, is dark, coffered wood with three paintings by Giuseppe da Brindisi (c1685). The panel over the crossing is "L'Ultima Cena", and the others are images from "La Vita di Sant'Oronzo".

The cappella laterale on the Evangelist side is covered with a dome, again like at Santa Croce, with angels carrying the "Simboli della Passione".

 

 

 

After our visit to the Duomo, we are on our own for lunch. We find a nearby restaurant and dine alfresco, making the most of this sunny weather – if we had only one or two more days like this, how different this tour might have been.

Our tour of Puglia ends with a short bus trip to the Abbazia di Santa Maria a Cerrate (12th-13th centuries), a tiny monastic complex a few minutes north of Lecce, recently restored (2012-14) by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano. 

While the Chiesa Abbaziale is properly oriented west-to-east, but the walls and bordering structures are aligned to the nearby fields and paths, creating a series of roughly triangular yards. As we have come to expect, the facade is simple, with delicate vegetal forms in the rosone and around the architrave. Archaic Romanesque figures ring the top of the door arch: "L'Annunciazione della Vergine" (Gabriele lower left, Maria lower right), "La Visita a Santa Elisabetta" (left), "I Magi" (top), and "La Fuga in Egitto" (right). 

 

 

The interior is taller than the exterior would suggest (interior @ entry), with a new reed roof and restored clerestory. A 'classical' altar, the "Altare della Madonna di Cerrate"(c1642), stands halfway down left (Evangelst) aisle and divides the room. The exterior wall of the Espitle aisle is clearly reassembled as parts of the frescos are jumbled like mixed Lego bricks (top image).

Luckily, the other frescos are properly recombined and restored. With an effect like yesterday's Santo Stefano in Soleto, we stand among life-size saints. On the left, near the Altare, we find "Sant’Anna e San Gioacchino" (Sant-Anna holds the child Maria) and "San Giorgio a Cavallo".

 

 

 

 

Portraits of saints add more color to the intrados, with lively designs (lettering?) on the facing sides.

The panel between the doors on the left is marred with 'picchiettatura', but colorful. The right-most figure is an "Arcangelo con Loros", a long scarf worn on the arms. L'Altare Maggiore (interior @ altar) is sheltered by a small stone baldacchino (17th century) and dedicated to Sant'Irene, shown in the tondi of the altar base holding the city of Lecce. The apse and archway contain a line of Santi e Vescovi in the lower register, and "La Vergine Orante con Apostoli e Angeli" in the upper register – Maria praying over the small window, hidden behind the hood of the baldacchino. "L'Ascensione di Cristo" is in the shallow half-dome.

The frescos in the Epistle cappella laterale are quite feint. At the top is "San Giovanni Battista", and below are pairs of angeli and santi vescovi. The geometric designs of the arch are especially bright and delightful.

 

 

 

 

 

A long portico (13th century) runs the length of the church's north side, facing a Baroque pozzo (well, 16th century), capped by the figure of Trintone. The capitals of the colonnade are full of inventive and amusing character. At the northwest corner, two dogs and a two-headed bird attack a poor monk. A lion with one head and two bodies hold a book (?). Other monks are depicted in prayer, hold a cross, or tending crops. 

The L'Abbazia (monks' house) is across the yard and past the pozzo. On the ground level, il mulino (olive press) and la stanza del forno are restored. Upstairs, a small cinema room shows a repeating documentary video.

 

 

 

 

 

In the opposite yard to the south is La Casa del Massaro (farmer's house) which serves as a small museum. Here, the 'outer layer' frescos are on display; these images were removed from the church – presumably newer but similar images to the ones in situ. The large panel shows, on the left, "L'Annunciazione" in an elaborate architectural setting below the skyline of the city. "San Giorgio e la Principessa"is the central image, and "Sant’Eustachio a Cavallo" (with stag) is on the right.

Three saints occupy the side wall: "Santo Stefano" (early 15th century), "Vergine con Bambino" (14th-15th centuries), and "Sant'Antonio" (late 15th century). Scratched marks and script are visible, reminders of times when the Abbazia was abandoned and vandalized. The room includes a touching Madonna and Child, "La Madonna del Popolo" (16th century). Several sinopia drawings are also in the exhibit.

In a shallow niche, "La Dormizione di Maria" ("Koimesis", 14th century) shows a different medieval sensibility, with darker skin tones, and more linear (rather than planar) rendering of the clothes. The city of Ephesus is in the background, and the niche in the foreground is occupied by the fresco's patron.

Two more olive presses are in the back rooms of the Casa, and an additional ruined press is underground.

 

 

 

 

 

In the corridor, an interactive screen cleverly invites guests to 'restore' the frescos. Other items include a telaio (loom), which is setup for demonstrations, and the recently recovered grande timbro (limestone baker's stamp, 12th century) with an image of the "Anastasis", used for Easter communion bread. The verse in Greek reads:

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death with His death and giving His life to those who were in their graves. ("Abbazia S. Maria di Cerrate / Shorter Visitor Guide", FAI-ETS, 2023)

It's the last item on the itinerary, and the country air is glorious. The group stays til sunset.