Lecce - Sant'Irene

A legend tells, that a city called Sybar existed at the time of the Trojan War. It was conquered by the Romans in the 3rd century BC, receiving the new name of Lupiae.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Lecce was sacked by the Ostrogoth troops of king Totila. In 549 it was taken by Byzantium and remained part of the Eastern Roman Empire for five centuries, interrupted by brief invasions by the Saracens, Longobards, Hungarians and Slavs.

After the Norman conquest in the 11th century, Lecce regained commercial and political importance, flourishing in the subsequent Hohenstaufen and Angevine rule. From the 15th century, Lecce was one of the most important cities of southern Italy, and, starting in 1630, it developed into a centre of Baroque architecture. This was made possible by the soft tuff stone found in the area, perfect for that architecture.

-
The Theatines (aka " Congregation of Clerics Regular of the Divine Providence"), an order founded in 1524, commissioned this church. The building started in 1591 and followed a blueprint done by Theatine monk Francesco Grimaldi, who had worked before at the church "Sant’Andrea della Valle", in Rome, the "mother church" of the Theatines.

The church played an important role in local history: in October 1860 the plebiscite operations to decide Lecce's "yes" to join the Kingdom of Italy took place here.