Chiesa di San Domenico

"The Chiesa di San Domenico, or Church of Saint Dominic, is a Catholic church dedicated to Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order. It is located in various cities, including Palermo, Italy, and Bologna, Italy, as well as other locations. The churches are significant landmarks, reflecting the history and artistic traditions of the Dominican friars. The church is one of the most beautiful monuments of the village of Nardò and deserves a careful visit outside and especially inside the church. This church has a very particular facade clearly made in different times and styles. You suddenly find it in front of you when you arrive in the square . The church of San Domenico is a church in the historic center of Nardo . The interior has a single nave with a Latin cross plan and three chapels on each side. Among the various altars, all redone, that of the Madonna del Rosario stands out with the fifteen mysteries placed on the altar on the left. Very beautiful ."

Jitendra Singh Panwar

"Another marvel of Lecce Baroque, the church of San Domenico is located in the historic center of Nardò and was built between 1580 and 1594. I highly recommend a visit to anyone who finds themselves in the Lecce area."

Roberto Iandoli

"In the historic center of the town of Nardò, we find a spectacular group of buildings representative of the Baroque architecture of the Salento region. Among these buildings, the façade of the Church of San Domenico stands out.
The Church of San Domenico was initially built in the late 16th century, dedicated to Saint Mary. It was part of a small adjacent monastery of the Dominican Order.
In 1743, a strong earthquake struck the Puglia region, particularly affecting the Salento region. Following this earthquake, the Church of San Domenico was seriously damaged, destroying much of its structure, except for the façade, one of its walls, and part of the sacristy. After this earthquake, it was decided to begin rebuilding the structure of the church, which originally had three naves, transforming it into a single nave, which enhanced the preaching of the Dominican Order after the Council of Trent.

The façade of the Church of San Domenico is a magnificent example of Lecce Baroque. The façade is clearly divided into two sections built in different periods. In the lower section, the lintelled doorway is flanked by two small Corinthian columns supporting a semicircular pediment with two stone coats of arms. Above the doorway, a frieze decorated with geometric motifs and two angels holding a crown can be seen. The ensemble is complemented by eight fluted columns with Corinthian capitals on high bases supporting an entablature.
But the most significant aspect of this lower order is its extraordinary ornamentation, replete with human figures, some of them grotesque, placed like columns that act as small caryatids. Many of these human figures are plump, angel-like children (puttis), leaning on each other and alternating with pagan figures in mock-like forms wearing plant ornaments on their heads.
The upper section, on the other hand, is much simpler. With a large latticed window decorated with floral motifs, flanked by two niches with sculptures of Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine.
The church has a Latin cross plan with a single nave, surrounded by robust square pilasters supporting an entablature above which rises a wall of windows supporting a soft green painted wooden ceiling adorned with paintings. On the sides of the nave are six small chapels, among which the chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary stands out, with a 16th-century fresco by local painter Donato Antonio d'Orlando.
The interior of the church is much simpler than the façade and responds more to the ideas of the Counter-Reformation that were established in Europe following the Protestant reforms of the 16th and 17th centuries, with the aim of strengthening the Catholic faith through greater drama in the paintings and sculptures. Outside the temple, on one side behind the church and facing Piazza Salandra, is the iconic Fontana del Toro (Bull Fountain). There is a legend about the origin of the city of Nardò that tells how a bull, by digging its paw in the ground, caused a spring of water to emerge, which became a spring, thus marking the place where the first settlements of what would become the future city of Nardò would be established. Currently, the coat of arms of the city of Nardò is represented by a bull with the Latin motto "tauro non bovi."
The former convent adjacent to the church now houses an art school.
Admission to the church is free, but the worship of the parishioners is always respected.
This church's façade has mysterious symbolism and iconography, very elaborate and difficult to understand. The interior is worth visiting, but especially the details of the façade of this church are worth exploring. A must-see in Nardò."

Fernando Patacona