Chiesa di Santa Maria del Casale

Striped in carparo and pale stone on the road north of Brindisi, Santa Maria del Casale is a Gothic-Romanesque church with a remarkable cycle of medieval frescoes. It served as a sanctuary for pilgrims and as the chancery for the trial of the Templar knights in the Kingdom of Sicily.

Why it matters

The church stood on a route used by pilgrims travelling toward the Holy Land and grew under Angevin patronage, with princes of Taranto among its benefactors. In May 1310 it hosted the chancery of the tribunal instituted by Pope Clement V against the Templars. Declared a national monument in 1875, the church preserves one of the most distinctive medieval art cycles in the Brindisi area.

What to notice

The gabled façade combines blind arcades and slender pilasters with a raised, cusp-topped porch over the portal. Dark carparo alternates with pale stone from Carovigno. Inside, the single nave retains extensive wall paintings, including a Last Judgment on the counter-façade, signed by Rinaldo da Taranto and dated to the early fourteenth century. The Tree of the Cross has twelve branches for the apostles and includes the city's coat of arms. The nearby convent buildings were begun by the Minori Osservanti and completed by the Reformed Friars between 1635 and 1638.

Context and history

The church took shape between the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, perhaps incorporating an older chapel with a frescoed Virgin. Its history is tied to the Angevin court and its patrons, including Filippo d'Angiò, prince of Taranto, and his consort. Franciscan ownership followed, and the convent was suppressed in the nineteenth century. The church remains a sanctuary where the Nativity of Mary is celebrated on 8 September.