Chiesa di Santa Teresa

Nardò's Church of Santa Teresa honours Teresa Adami, a local woman who led the adjacent community of Discalced Carmelite nuns. Rebuilt after the 1743 earthquake and consecrated in 1769, the church is known for its eighteenth-century stuccowork and the annual devotion to San Biagio.

Why it matters

Teresa Adami, born Lidia Adami in Nardò in 1656, directed the Carmelite monastery beside the church. The present building arose from a campaign begun under Bishop Francesco Carafa, interrupted by the 1743 earthquake and completed between 1762 and 1769 by the De Angelis brothers. It was consecrated on 10 November 1769. After the monastery closed in 1810, the church passed to the Confraternity of the Santissimo Sacramento, which continues to maintain it.

What to notice

The concave façade has two architectural orders, a curved pediment with the Carmelite emblem and Bishop Carafa's arms above the portal. Inside, a rectangular hall opens into two side chapels. The high altar is built in pietra leccese and includes a marble tabernacle; the vaulted ceiling is covered in decorative stuccowork. The church also holds a large canvas of the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, a signed painting of Saint Teresa and Saint Joseph by Vincenzo Fato, and a wooden Christ the Redeemer attributed to Giacomo Colombo. A papier-mâché statue of San Biagio is central to the 3 February throat-blessing rite.

Context and history

The Carmelite foundation developed through local patronage: the Sambiasi family donated a palace in 1676, and Baron Vitantonio Delli Falconi later ceded neighbouring land for the cloister. Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali formally recognised the Discalced rule in 1699, and the first twelve nuns completed their novitiate the following year. After the earthquake halted Bishop Carafa's church project, the De Angelis brothers completed the present building. The monastery closed on 29 November 1810, and the church passed to the confraternity. The San Biagio devotion, including the blessing of crossed candles, remains part of its religious life.