Saint Irene was the protector of Lecce, and this was her church. In 1656 the pope proclaimed Oronzo, Giusto and Fortunato patrons of the city, and she was demoted to co-patron; the church, though, still bears her name, her statue over the doorway and her altar in the transept. It was begun in 1591 by the Theatine Francesco Grimaldi and finished in 1639.
What to see
The front has two orders, with superimposed pilasters tied by festoons, niches left empty and cartouches; above, the pediment carries the Theatine insignia, and along the entablature runs the Latin dedication to the virgin and martyr. Over the door stands the carved saint, and under the cornice the arms of the city: a way of saying whose the church was and whose the town.
Inside the plan is a Latin cross, with a single nave opened at the sides by three deep intercommunicating chapels roofed with elliptical domes. The altars are the work of the Lecce stonecutters of the seventeenth century, among them the uncle of the master who designed the cathedral; the altar of saint Irene keeps nine busts of saints, each holding the relic of the figure it portrays. In the apse hangs the large canvas of the Carrying of the Ark.
Visiting
The church is in via Vittorio Emanuele II, on the street running from piazza Sant'Oronzo to the cathedral, two minutes from both; free entry, with hours following the services. Half an hour.
Our editors' tip
In here, in October 1860, Lecce voted the plebiscite to join the Kingdom of Italy: the tables stood in this nave. It is something no sign records, and it changes the way you look at the space: not just a church, but the place where a city decided to change state.
