ChurchesChurches / Lecce (LE)
Church of Santa Chiara
Located in the historical center of Lecce, it was founded in 1429 and was almost completely restored between 1687 and 1691. The construction was designed by architect Giuseppe Cino.
The façade has two levels: the lower has a portal decorated with plant motifs and surmounted by a mixtilinear tympanus with a central oval niche, supported by smiling angels, and the Poor Clares' coat of arms.
The higher order has niches flanked to twin fluted pilasters at the sides of a large central window, with a tympanum displaying a winged cherub that reveals the year of completion (1691).
The building features an octagonal plan.