Chiesa del Carmine

The Church of the Carmine in Taranto combines a neoclassical façade with a richly decorated side elevation overlooking the Borgo. It is also closely associated with the city's Good Friday Processione dei Misteri.

Why it matters

The church is documented from 1577, when it was dedicated to Santa Maria della Misericordia. Its Carmelite dedication is recorded in a Latin inscription on the façade. The archdiocese established the parish of Maria Santissima del Monte Carmelo in 1936. The church's religious and civic history is also linked to the Processione dei Misteri, whose principal statues are preserved in its chapels.

What to notice

The main façade has sculpted capitals, empty niches and an upper panel bearing the arms of Archbishop Ferdinando Bernardi. On the side facing Piazza della Vittoria, four circular windows, a balcony and an angel-decorated bell tower form a distinctive street front. The single nave includes a dome over the crossing. The chapels contain eighteenth-century statues of the Addolorata and Gesù Morto, works by Giuseppe Manzo associated with the procession, and a painting of Maddalena dei Pazzi by Paolo De Matteis.

Context and history

The building was remodelled in the early twentieth century, with its façade rebuilt in 1937. A column drum in one chapel is venerated in local tradition as the place where Saint Peter celebrated Taranto's first Eucharist; an inscription commemorating this belief dates to 1651. The drum came from the demolished church of San Pietro della Porta. The church remains an important setting for Taranto's Holy Week traditions.