Chiesa di San Pasquale Baylon

San Pasquale Baylon is a Franciscan church in Taranto's mainland Borgo. Its eighteenth-century foundation and devotional art are closely associated with the Alcantarine community and the memory of Sant'Egidio da Taranto.

Why it matters

The church connects the religious life of the expanding town with Bourbon-era patronage. Its later relationship with Sant'Egidio gave it a strong local devotional identity distinct from the archaeological museum established in the former convent.

What to notice

The Latin-cross interior has three aisles and chapels dedicated to Sant'Egidio and the Madonna del Pozzo. An Ecstasy of San Pasquale Baylon associated with Domenico Carella forms a principal painted work. Other paintings connect the church with the Neapolitan artistic tradition.

Context and history

Construction developed through the eighteenth century, with the church consecrated in 1794. Suppression changed the convent's use in the nineteenth century, eventually leading to its adaptation as the national archaeological museum. The church retained a separate religious identity, particularly through devotion to the Tarantine friar Egidio, canonised in 1996.