Sant'Irene (Lecce)
| Sant'Irene | |
|---|---|
 facade |
|
| Construction time: | 1591-1639 |
| Inauguration: | 1639 |
| Architect : | Francesco Grimaldi |
| Style elements : | Baroque |
| Client: | Order of the Theatines |
| Location: | 40 ° 21 '10.4 " N , 18 ° 10' 12.2" E |
| Location: |
Lecce Puglia , Italy |
| Purpose: | Roman Catholic Church |
Sant'Irene the Theatiner is a Catholic church in the historic center of Lecce. It is dedicated to St. Irene of Lecce , patron saint of the city until 1656, when Pope Alexander VII placed the city of Lecce under the patronage of St. Oronzo, Bishop.
history
The church was built from 1591 to a design by the Theatine Francesco Grimaldi and was completed in 1639 and consecrated by the Bishop of Brindisi .
The church witnessed important historical events: in 1797 it was visited by King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon ; in October 1860 the referendum took place here to decide the Yes of Lecce to the entry into the Kingdom of Italy. In 1866 the adjoining Theatine monastery was closed, but the church remained open for worship.
The parish celebrates its patroness Irene on May 5th.
description
Outside
The building is reminiscent of the model of the Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome, which Grimaldi himself worked on. The facade consists of two levels with pilasters on top of each other that are connected by festoons . The columns are separated in the lower order by empty niches and writing tablets and in the upper order by a large window. In the center is the portal with a stone statue of Saint Irene by Mauro Manieri from 1717. Above the cornice is the coat of arms of the city of Lecce. The façade is closed by a triangular tympanum with the insignia of the Theatine order in the center. On the entablature is the Latin dedication to the patron saint Irene: Irene virgini et martiri (Irene virgin and martyr) .
Inside
The floor plan corresponds to a Latin cross , with a single nave, on the sides of which there are three deep connected chapels with elliptical domes.
On the left are the altars of Saint Stephen , with an image of the Stoning of Saint Stephen by Antonio Verrio , the Cross and the Virgin of Good Counsel.
In the left transept there are three altars: the altar of Saint Oronzo from the mid-17th century by Francesco Antonio Zimbalo, uncle of Giuseppe Zimbalo; the altar of Saint Irene (1639) with nine busts of saints with relics of the religious, while above is the statue of Saint Irene and the coat of arms of Lecce; the altar of the Holy Family from 1672.
In the apse is the high altar, which was reworked in 1753. On the wall is the painting entitled Il Trasporto dell'Arca Santa (The Transport of the Holy Ark) , a masterpiece by Oronzo Tiso.
In the right transept there are three more altars: the guardian angel altar from 1700; the altar, consecrated in 1651 by the Archbishop of Otranto Gaetano Cassa to Saint Kajetan von Thiene , which contains the oil painting depicting the founder of the Theatin Order, created by Filippo Maria Galletti; the altar of St. Andrew Avellino , in rococo style.
In the chapels on the right are the altars of Saint Charles Borromeo , Altar of Archangel Michael , built in 1642 by Cesare Penna, and the Altar of Souls in Purgatory with a more recent painting by Luigi Scorrano.
In the sacristy of the church there are other paintings, including that of the Madonna della Libera .
- Altars
Altar of Saint Stephen
Altar of the Cross
Altar of the Virgin of Good Advice
Altar of Saint Irene
Guardian Angel Altar
Altar of Saint Charles Borromeo
Altar of the Archangel Michael
Altars of souls in purgatory
Remarks
- ↑ The painter Filippo M. Galletti was a famous Theatine. Many of his works can be found in churches of the Theatine order.
literature
- Gaetano M. Monforte: Memoria storico-critica di ciò che avvenne di più rimarchevole nello stabilimento de 'pp. Teatini nella citta di Lecce . Saverio Giordano, Naples 1831 (Italian, digitized ).
- Michele Paone: Lecce elegia del Barocco (= Documentari . NS 1). 2nd Edition. Congedo Editore, Galatina (Lecce) 1999, ISBN 88-7786-126-6 (Italian).
