A marvellous example of Gothic-Angevin art

The church of Santa Maria del Casale in Brindisi represents a fantastic example of Gothic-Angevin of the 14^th century.

It is pleonastic to remark that the Angevins were French.

The church has been built up in 1300 by Filippo il Bello, king of Taranto.

Nowadays, Santa Maria del Casale is an Italian national monument.

On Friday 17th of April, there was presentation of the book Affari pubblici e devozione privata. Santa Maria del Casale a Brindisi, written by Giulia Perrino, edited by Caratteri mobili.

The event, held within the church, has been arranged by Italia Nostra.    

The invites were Giulia Perrino, author of the book. Valentino Pace, Prof. at the University of Udine in History of Art. Finally, Don Mimmo, priest of S. Maria del Casale.

The moderator, Domenico Saponaro, president of the local Italia Nostra, calls upon Prof. Pace to speak.

The Prof. complaints about the presence of wooden seats in front of the altar, which are contrast with the style of the church itself . He invokes the intervention of Sovrintendenza dei beni culturali to remove them.

“From Monopoli till Lecce, there is a magnificent heritage of rock churches. Decorated by astonishing  paints, this heritage is unique. 

An example of the surprising beauty of it is Chiesa di Crepacuore” the Prof says.

“Unfortunately” the Prof. adds “such churches are often neglected, or at least not appreciated as they should be. Nevertheless, this is one of the main cultural asset of Italy”.

The Prof continues: “Brindisi has a wide cultural heritage. Today, for instance, I have been admiring the church of Santa Teresa for more than two hours.”

“Talking about the book” the Prof says “this is a research made on the history of art field, with a focus on messages. As the author reports, these frescos reveal messages of social achievement and self affirmation by those families who have commissioned it”.

“The heraldry is the leit motif of this research. The stemma (coat of arms) are like logos of nowadays”.

Prof. Pace continues “In Italy, historians of art and heraldry researchers are totally separated.

However, heraldry is without any doubt part of the history of art”.

“In this church you can clearly see the aristocracy’s ostentation”.

At the end of his speech, the audience applauds Prof. Pace

Now, it’s the round of Giulia Perrino.

She begins: “these frescos allow us to understand the main actors of the 14^th century”

“The devotion to the icon of Santa Maria del Casale, turns into an instrument of political communication”.

The author continues: “As you can see in this fresco, Nicola della Marra interacts with the Holy Virgin directly, without mediator”.

“The frescos ordered here by the Tocco’s family have echoes of Armenian, Syro-Palestinian and Byzantine art”.

She ends up saying: “What I have studied here is just a small part of what this church may offer”.

The extreme importance of this church is represented as well by the event which took place here: the process to knight Templars.

This is a very good reason to come to Brindisi and visit Santa Maria del Casale.

Don Mimmo will welcome you.