Basilica of Santa Croce

The Basilica of Santa Croce is a Baroque church located in the historic center and built between the 16th and 17th centuries by the most famous architects from Lecce. The basilica has a facade richly decorated with columns, statues, cherubs and telamons, which represent temporal and spiritual power. Leaving the alleys and finding yourself in front of the main portal you will be amazed.

This church, which is dedicated to the Holy Cross (Latin "Santa Croce"), takes its patronage from the cross on which Jesus Christ died. The veneration of the Holy Cross goes back in large part to Saint Helena, who was the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great (who recognized Christianity as a religion after his victory at the "Milvian Bridge" in front of Rome and ended the long period of persecution with the "Edict of Toleration" of Milan in 312). In the early fourth century, she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Israel / Palestine) and brought numerous relics back to Europe, including the "True Cross" on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Helena is therefore often depicted with a cross as an attribute.
The church celebrates the feast of the discovery, public presentation and veneration of the Holy Cross - called the "Exaltation of the Cross" - on September 14th.

In the area of the current basilica, Gualtieri VI of Brienne had already founded a monastery in the 14th century, but it was only after the mid-16th century that it was decided to transform the area into a monumental area. To find the land, the houses and properties of the Jews were requisitioned, expelled from the city in 1510. The works for the construction of the basilica lasted for two centuries, between the 16th and 17th centuries, and involved the most important city architects of the time . The first phase of construction, which began in 1549, ended by 1582 and saw the construction of the lower area of the facade, up to the enormous balcony supported by telamons depicting men and animals. The dome was completed in 1590. A subsequent phase of the works followed, starting from 1606, during which the three decorated portals were added to the facade.
A clarification: in the recent restoration phase, not only were the external surfaces cleaned, but due to the softness of the Lecce stone and the consequent erosion due to atmospheric agents, the restorers had to add material (mixture obtained from the same stone) to recreate the original forms.