Gallipoli, Gallipoli – Sant'Agata Cathedral

Placed in the middle of evocative, charming Piazza Duomo there is the beautiful Cathedral of Lecce, built in 1114 and subsequently reconstructed by Giuseppe Zimbalo between 1659 and 1670. Its sober main façade on two orders, shows a triangular tympanum with statues and a huge bronze door created for the Jubilee of 2000. From the square, the beautiful side façade can be seen. This is a stately triumphal arc surmounted by a statue of S. Oronzo and a valuable portal decorated with dancing putti. Its magnificent inside is developed over one nave and two aisles. The nave has a gold, wooden lacunars ceiling made in 1685 with the transept. These include several interesting paintings portraying the preaching of S. Oronzo, the Expulsion of the plague, the martyrdom of S. Oronzo and the Last Supper, this last hosted in the transept. The altars, including elegant twisted columns decorated with flower, plant and animal patterns, have a high artistic value. Besides Giuseppe Zimbalo, Cesare Penna and Pietro Gagliardi contributed to the first and second altar. Four column rows enriched with Romanesque capitals can be found in the crypt, a cubic hall constructed in 1517.

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