Considered the biggest example of Baroque Leccese, The Basilica of Santa Croce is a wordless treasure. No matter how many times you visit it, the Basilica offers a show that is always new and not just a simple glance to appreciate its architectural and artistic richness.
It is not by chance that it is the most important of the churches of the capital.
The Basilica dates to 1549 when the Celestine Fathers started the construction and work that lasted until 1699. Gabriele Riccardi, Francesco Antonio Zimbalo and Cesare Penna where the three architects who, with the help of artists and stonemasons, gave the city such an important religious monument.
Its externals
The facade of the church involved all three architects. The first was Gabriele Riccardi who designed and built the lower part of the facade, with the six columns surmounted by zoomorphic capitals and the upper frieze of classical inspiration. In 1606 Zimbalo took over and concentrated on the three portals and on the major one with its pairs of twin columns supporting the coats of arms of Philip III of Spain, Maria d'Enghien and Gualtiero VI of Brienne. On the two side portals, instead, there are the coats of arms of the Holy Cross and the Order of the Celestines.
The upper facade - joined to the lower one by a balcony - was the work of the architect Cesare Penna and boasts a spectacular rose window with concentric decorations of pomegranates, lilies, and cherubs. On the side are allocated two niches containing the statues of St. Benedict and St. Celestine and above, a fastigio depicting the Holy Cross, outlined with flowers and lilies.
Its internals
Once through the portal, the surprise does not end: the basilica with a Latin cross plant is wonderful and is divided into three naves by twelve columns with capitals where the faces of the apostles are placed between fruit and leaves, finely carved.
Along the central nave, you can only admire the magnificent dome decorated with acanthus leaves, angels and fruit, supported by columns paired with the symbols of the evangelists.
The central nave ends with a polylobed apse where there is the eighteenth-century high altar, a masterpiece of inlay on the marble of the Neapolitan school. The white of the Lecce stone that reigns supreme in every part of the building, contrasts perfectly with the brown of the coffered ceiling in gilded wood, in the center of which there is the canvas of the "Holy Trinity".
The aisles are instead characterized by a succession of chapels with altars and columns finely decorated, always in a wonderfully baroque style. On the right we find seventeen altars: the first houses the canvas of "Saint Anthony with the apparition of the Child", then that of the Nativity with the canvas "Adoration of the Shepherds" depictions of "Saint Michael the Archangel", "Saint Philip Neri", "The Trinity", "Saint Irene", "San Pier Celestino" and the different Marian icons.
An altar that deserves particular attention is that of Sant'Oronzo, protector of the city. In fact, it is considered the architect of the miracle of 1743 when an earthquake threatened to destroy the city. It consists of twelve panels, representing the background of the fresco, that illustrate the landscape. They are divided by six columns decorated with flowers in stone, so well made to look like embroideries. At the top, we find the Franciscan coat of arms and six angels that support the symbols of passion. The Celestine Fathers took care of the Basilica and managed it until 1807 when they were evicted by the law of Giuseppe Bonaparte that sanctioned the suppression of all monastic orders.
Nowadays, the convent has been acquired by the state and became the seat of public offices. During the period of suppression, the church was sacked but from 1833 it was entrusted to the Confraternity of the Holy Trinity of Pilgrims who restored it and took care of it.
In 1961, then, the Basilica of Santa Croce was enriched by a fantastic pipe organ, built by the Ruffatti brothers, and located on both sides of the presbytery. It is an electric transmission organ with two keyboards of sixty-one notes each and a concave-radial pedals of thirty-two.
