Basilica di Santa Croce (Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

, Church of the Holy Cross) is a Baroque

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

 church in Lecce

Lecce

Lecce is a historic city of 95,200 inhabitants in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Lecce, the second province in the region by population, as well as one of the most important cities of Puglia...

, Apulia

Apulia

Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, completed in 1695.

History

Walter VI of Brienne

Walter VI of Brienne

Walter VI of Brienne was Count of Brienne, Conversano, and Lecce, and titular Duke of Athens. Walter was the son of Walter V, Duke of Athens, and Jeanne de Châtillon , the daughter of the Count of Porcien, a constable to King Philip IV of France.As grandson of Hugh of Brienne Walter VI of Brienne...

 had founded in the current church's location a monastery in the 14th century. In 1549 a new church was begun, using, among the others, houses from Jews who had been ousted from Lecce in 1510. The construction dragged on for two centuries: in 1582 the lower façade had been finished, while the dome was completed in 1590. The portals were added starting from 1606, under the direction of Francesco Antonio Zimbalo

Francesco Antonio Zimbalo

Francesco Antonio Zimbalo was an Italian architect.He was one of the most prominent artists in the so-called Baroque of Lecce, his hometown in southern Italy. He designed the three portals of the façade and the althar of San Francesco di Paola of the Basilica of Santa Croce....

. The church was completed by his successors Cesare Penna (upper façade and the rose window

Rose window

A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...

) and Giuseppe Zimbalo

Giuseppe Zimbalo

Giuseppe Zimbalo was an Italian architect and sculptor.Known as the Zingarello , he was one of the most prominent artists in the so-called Baroque of Lecce, his hometown in southern Italy...

 (decoration of the upper façade).

Exterior

The church has a richly decorated façade, with six smooth columns supporting an entablature, with animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

s, grotesque figures and vegetables, and has a large rose window

Rose window

A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...

. The main portal as a pair of Corinthian columns and the coats of arms of Philip III of Spain

Philip III of Spain

Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...

, Mary of Enghien

Mary of Enghien

Mary of Enghien, also Maria d'Enghien, was Countess of Lecce from 1384 to 1446, and, by her second marriage, Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Sicily, Jerusalem, and Hungary .- Family :...

 and Walter VI of Brienne, while on the side portals are those of the Celestines

Celestines

Celestines are a Roman Catholic monastic order, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1244. At the foundation of the new rule, they were called Hermits of St Damiano, or Moronites , and did not assume the appellation of Celestines until after the election of their founder to the Papacy as...

. Several atlantes

Atlas (architecture)

In the classical European architectural tradition an atlas is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster...

 would represent the Turk prisoners made by the Christian League at the Battle of Lepanto (1571)

Battle of Lepanto (1571)

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire in five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece...

. The animals under the balaustrade would symbolize the Christian powers which participated in the battle: the dragon was the symbol of the Boncompagni, family of Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...

; the griffon

Griffon

Griffon is a type of dog, a collection of breeds of originally hunting dogs. There are three recognized lines of the griffon type Fédération Cynologique Internationale FCI, the griffon vendéens, the wirehaired pointers, and the smousje...

 the Republic of Genoa

Republic of Genoa

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....

, Hercules the Grand Duke of Tuscany and so on.

Interior

The interior, on the Latin cross plan, had originally a nave and four aisles, two of which were turned into side chapels in the 18th century. The church has seventeen altars: the main one has a decorated portal with the coat of arms of the Adorni family, whose tombs were inside the basilica. Notable is also that of St. Francis of Paola, a Baroque piece of art by Francesco Antonio Zimbalo.

The nave has a rich wooden caisson ceiling. Paintings include a Tinity by Gianserio Strafella

Gianserio Strafella

Gianserio Strafella was an Italian Mannerist painter active mainly in Salerno. His work may be seen in the chapel of Copertino Castle and the Basilica di Santa Croce in Lecce.-Reference:*...

, St. Anthony of Padua by Oronzo Tiso and The Adoration of the Shepherd by Giovanni Battista Lama

Giovanni Battista Lama

Giovanni Battista Lama was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Naples. Along with Paolo de Matteis, he was pupil to the painters Luca Giordano. He painted historical canvases....

.