ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY
Church of the Augustinians | Melpignano (THE)
History
The convent complex was built from 1573, when the sixteenth-century church of the Carmine was entrusted to theAugustinian Order. The construction of the work is part of the series of convents and monasteries commissioned by the Latin Church to impose its presence in an area strongly linked to the Greek rite. Nel 1638, by the will of the Augustinian father Raffaele Monosi, the complex was renovated by the Coriglianese Francesco Manuli on a project by the Leccese architect Joseph Zimbalo. The church was completed in 1662.
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Architecture
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External
Church facade, high example of Lecce Baroque seventeenth century, has an entrance portal formed by two pairs of columns, richly decorated and resting on bases rotated by 45 degrees, which support the entablature dominated by a stone statue of the_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_Our Lady of Carmel. Laterally, two niches house the statues of saint monica e St. Augustine. Above an elaborate frieze, the upper order is embellished with an elegant central window con eardrum arched and da wanted lateral with busts of cherubs.
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Internal
The interior, with a single nave with six chapels arranged along the side walls, still conserves the choir sixteenth century behind the main altar. The latter is dedicated to the Virgin of Carmine and is enriched by the statues of Saint Thomas of Villanova e di Pope Alexander VII. The minor altars, among which the one dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Tolentino del 1656 by Placido Buffelli, they were made in the middle of Six hundred.
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Convent
Abandoned for decades, the convent has undergone some restoration work, and is currently used to host cultural activities. Il cloister del 1644 keeps the remains of a highly decorated colonnade, bearing many Latin engravings, and a well on which the double-headed eagle is carved, sign of the presence of the noble family Castriota Scanderbeg.
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The final concert of the Festival della takes place every year in the large space in frontTaranta night.
