The Devotion of Saint Oronzo and the Urban Identity of the City of Lecce

Abstract

In 1656, a plague epidemic struck the kingdom of Naples. In Lecce, the escape from danger was attributed to the intercession of the proto-bishop Oronzo. The elevation of Saint Oronzo as protector of the city of Lecce by Bishop Luigi Pappacoda was a skilful move by the prelate to regain control of the sacred in a troubled time, characterised by the “war for relics” between the Theatines and the Jesuits and the echoes of the Masaniellian revolt. The cult of the saint coincided with the construction of the sacred Baroque city of Lecce. The result is a city in which urban space is perfectly marked by the presence of the sacred. The decision to focus on promoting a local saint, such as Oronzo, is in line with the dictates of the Council of Trent, which restored value to the bishops’ pastoral action, aiming at an extreme personalisation of the relationship between saint and believer. The aim of the contribution is, therefore, to highlight the link between the epidemic, Pappacoda’s action and the birth of Baroque Lecce, extending the range of research conducted so far mainly on the city of Lecce to the territory in order to create a true cartography of the sacred. In addition to a survey of the buildings scattered throughout the territory, the study will also analyse the iconography of the patron saint, often accompanied by a “synthetic” representation of the urban centre over which he exercises his protection.