| Consecrated in 1724 by the Bishop of Nardò A. Sanfelice, the Church of St. Mary of Purity is one of the most interesting of the 18th century in Salento. It’s one of the few preserved works of the famous architect from Naples Ferdinando Sanfelice (the Bishop’s brother), one of the best Solimena's students.
On the façade, characterized by the Borrominian style, one can enjoy the relation between the decorative patterns of the Neapolitan school and the balanced distribution of the decorative elements, always subordinate to architecture. In the boundary part of the façade, on the entrance portal there's the fancy coat of arms belonging to Bishop Sanfelice. The inner space has a Greek-cross plan with big arches and austere pilaster strips, decorated with some flowery capitals. In the building there’s the monumental funeral chapel of the Bishop, here buried in 1736. |