5/5 Huykyung “Grace” B. 4 years ago on Google
The
church
was
built
starting
from
1591
on
the
project
of
the
Francesco
Grimaldi
from
Turin
and
was
completed
in
1639,
the
year
of
the
consecration
by
the
Bishop
of
Brindisi.
The
church
experienced
important
historical
events:
in
1797
it
was
visited
by
King
Ferdinand
IV
of
Bourbon;
in
October
1860
it
hosted
the
plebiscite
operations
to
decide
the
yes
of
Lecce
to
enter
the
Kingdom
of
Italy.
In
1866
the
annexed
convent
of
the
Theatines
was
suppressed,
but
the
church
remained
open
for
worship.
The
parish
community
celebrates
its
patron
Irene
on
May
5th.
The
building
refers
to
the
model
of
the
Basilica
of
Sant'Andrea
della
Valle
in
Rome,
where
Grimaldi
himself
worked.
The
façade
is
made
up
of
a
double
order
system,
punctuated
by
overlapping
pilasters
connected
by
festoons.
The
columns
are
spaced
out
in
the
lower
order
by
empty
niches
and
cartouches
and
in
the
upper
order
by
a
large
window.
The
central
space
of
the
lower
order
houses
the
portal,
surmounted
by
the
stone
statue
of
Saint
Irene,
by
Mauro
Manieri
from
1717.
Above
the
string
course
frame
stands
the
civic
emblem
of
the
city
of
Lecce.
The
façade
is
crowned
by
a
triangular
tympanum
bearing
the
insignia
of
the
order
of
the
Theatines.
The
Latin
dedication
to
the
patron
saint
Irene
virgini
et
martiri
(Irene
virgin
and
martyr)
is
engraved
on
the
entablature.
The
interior
has
a
Latin
cross
plan,
with
a
single
nave
open
at
the
sides
by
three
deep
chapels
communicating
with
each
other
and
characterized
by
elliptical
domes.
On
the
left
side
there
are
the
altars
of
St.
Stephen,
which
houses
the
painting
with
the
Stoning
of
St.
Stephen,
by
Antonio
Verrio,
of
the
Crucifix
and
of
the
Virgin
of
the
Good
Council.
In
the
left
arm
of
the
transept
there
are
three
altars:
the
altar
of
Saint
Oronzo,
built
around
the
middle
of
the
seventeenth
century
by
Francesco
Antonio
Zimbalo,
uncle
of
Giuseppe
Zimbalo;
the
altar
of
Saint
Irene
(1639)
which
houses
nine
busts
of
saints
which
each
contain
the
relics
of
the
depicted
religious,
while
above
is
the
statue
of
Saint
Irene
surmounted
by
the
coat
of
arms
of
Lecce;
the
altar
of
the
Holy
Family
built
in
1672.
The
apse
houses
the
main
altar
altered
in
1753.
On
the
wall
is
a
painting
depicting
The
Transport
of
the
Holy
Ark,
a
masterpiece
by
Oronzo
Tiso.
In
the
right
arm
of
the
transept
there
are
three
other
altars:
the
altar
of
the
Guardian
Angel
dating
back
to
1700;
the
altar
dedicated
in
1651
to
St.
Gaetano
of
Thiene
by
the
archbishop
of
Otranto
Gaetano
Cassa,
which
houses
the
oil
painting
depicting
the
founder
of
the
Teatini
order,
created
by
Filippo
Maria
Galletti
[1];
the
altar
of
Saint
Andrew
Avellino,
in
the
Rococo
style.
In
the
chapels
on
the
right
side
there
are
the
altars
of
St.
Charles
Borromeo,
of
the
archangel
Michael,
built
by
Cesare
Penna
in
1642,
and
the
altar
of
the
Souls
of
Purgatory
with
a
recent
painting
by
Luigi
Scorrano.
The
church's
sacristy
houses
other
paintings,
including
that
of
the
Madonna
della
Libera.
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