BASILICA SANTA CROCE
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Basilica built by the Celestine order in 1353 in Lecce.
The most typical and certainly the most breathtaking example of leccese baroque. The Basilica of St. Croce was built on the ruins of a pre-existing church, built in 1353 by the order of the celestines. It was built between 1549 and 1646 by three architects : Gabriele Riccardi planned the general structure of the building and designed the lower part of the façade; Francesco Antonio Zimbalo and Cesare Penna completed the façade and some interior fittings.
The grandiose façade inevitably catches the visitor's eye: while the lower order is still imbued with the spirit of the Renaissance, with six columns supporting a classical entablature, the upper order is a triumph of Baroque decoration. Particularly noteworthy is the balustrade supported by grotesque figures and animals, whose iconography would refer to the Battle of Lepanto (1571): the bent men would represent the defeated Turks, the animals would be the symbols of the triumphant Catholic powers: the lion of Venice, the Roman she-wolf, the griffon of Genoa? The abundant sculpted decoration continues around the rose window.
The interior, sober and discreet in relation to the façade, has a Latin cross plan with three naves and is enriched with polychrome marble and sculpted festoons. The wooden coffered ceiling is from the 17th century. To the left of the choir, the altar decorated with bas-reliefs depicting the life of St. Francis of Paola (born in Paola, Calabria) is by Francesco Antonio Zimbalo (1614).
Fort contraste entre la densité de cette façade et cet éclatant intérieur d'une très grande richesse de couleurs et de dorures