Chiesa dell'Immacolata

The Church of the Immacolata in Nardò stands on the site of the city’s former castle, granted to the Franciscans by Charles I of Anjou in 1271. First dedicated to Saint Francis, it received its present dedication in the nineteenth century. Its carparo facade rises above a single-nave Baroque interior.

Why it matters

The building links Nardò’s medieval civic history with the Franciscan presence that followed. The municipal account records the 1271 grant of the ruined castle to the friars and identifies the church’s earlier dedication to Saint Francis. Building contracts published by the Fondazione Terra d’Otranto document construction work from 1577. Nineteenth-century changes included its dedication to the Immacolata and work on the vault.

What to notice

The two-order facade is built in carparo and crowned by a niche with a statue of the Immacolata in pietra leccese. Inside, the single nave leads to the presbytery, with three Baroque lateral altars.

Context and history

After the Franciscans received the castle site, the church developed as part of their conventual complex. The convent was later sold into private ownership. The present dedication and later structural work belong to the church’s nineteenth-century history. The local heritage portal records that worship resumed after a period of abandonment.