The Art Gallery of Franciscan art

Type:

Luoghi della cultura; Ente/Istituzione

Category:

Art museums

The Art Gallery is located in the upper floor halls of the sixteenth century residence of the rich noble of Lecce, Fulgenzio della Monica. It is an architectural complex that includes a monumental entrance portal, a chapel dedicated to Saints Philip and James and a nymph, an elegant place arranged on the ground floor. The Art Gallery, inaugurated and opened to the public on 7th November 1968, houses a collection of paintings from the convents of the Province of Salento, along with other works of art worthy of preservation. The brilliant inventor and creator of this unique art collection was the Franciscan of Salice Salentino, Father Egidio De Tommaso. The art gallery occupies the stairway and the upper floor of the old building. The works exhibited in the art gallery of Fulgenzio have a common denominator: the majority belong to the same historical period (XVII-XVIII c.) that of the Baroque and the Catholic Counter-Reformation and are by an unknown artist from Franciscan monasteries scattered on the provinces of Lecce, Taranto and Brindisi. Among the best known painters are: Serafino Elmo, Oronzo Tiso and friar Francis from Martina Franca.