Lecce Cathedral was first built in 1144 and repaired in 1230. Bishop Luigi Pappacoda ordered it rebuilt, and Giuseppe Zimbalo carried out the work in 1659 and built the bell tower in 1661 and 1662. The article gives the style as Lecce Baroque and calls the northern facade a masterpiece of Baroque art.
The plan is a Latin cross with three naves and twelve side chapels. The northern facade has a central portal with statues of Saints Giusto and Fortunato, and the patron saint Orontius stands above. A crypt has a corridor of ninety-two columns.
The bell tower is 236 feet (72 meters) tall, in five tapered levels, with an octagonal majolica dome. It leans slightly because of a partly sunken foundation.
Comments