Chiesa di Santa Chiara

Santa Chiara in Lecce combines a gently convex Baroque facade with an elongated octagonal interior. Its remarkable papier-mâché ceiling brings a material strongly associated with the city's artistic workshops into monumental architectural decoration.

Why it matters

The church connects the history of the Poor Clares with the inventive character of Lecce's Baroque art. Its centralised space and lightweight decorative ceiling create a different effect from the city's larger aisled churches.

What to notice

The facade has two orders and an unfinished-looking upper profile. Inside, pilasters and side chapels articulate the octagonal hall. The ceiling, designed by Mauro Manieri, consists of moulded papier-mâché elements supported on a wooden framework. An inscription dates the work to 1738.

Wooden devotional sculpture and the screened choir spaces recall both the artistic decoration and the enclosed religious community for which the church was made.

Context and history

The Poor Clares' foundation dates to the early fifteenth century. The church was rebuilt in 1687–1691, with its design associated with Giovanni Andrea Larducci and furnishing traditionally linked with Giuseppe Cino. Later suppression changed the convent's institutional role, while the surviving church retained the artistic legacy of the community.