Sant’Egidio Art Gallery

Attached to the Church of San Pasquale Baylon there is an interesting Art Gallery  dedicated to Sant’Egidio da Taranto.Alongside works of contemporary art it houses an important collection of paintings from the Neapolitan school of the 1700s.

Among the most represented authors, it is possible to admire works by Solimena, Corrado Giaquinto and, most importantly, by Luca Giordano.

The most important part of the gallery, preserved in the sacristy of the Franciscan church, consists of a rich corpus of half figures of apostles traditionally linked to Francesco Fracanzano, an extremely appreciated and active artist in Puglia who left other valuable works now preserved in the city.

The museum space, which was recently restored, houses ancient sacred furnishings and statues as well as a particular collection of ancient jewels donated by Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony as a sign of gratitude for a miracle received by San Pasquale Baylon, to who she was said to be particularly devoted.

The close bond with the reigning house would seem to be demonstrated by the fact that the construction of the entire complex is traced back to Fra Serafino Carrozzini della Concezione da Soleto. Thanks to his charisma, in 1747, he was able to obtain from Charles III of Bourbon (on the intercession of Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony), the decree for the foundation of the convent, a subsidy of one hundred and eighty ducats for the Alcantarine fraternity, the consent of Pope Benedict XIV as well as the title of “Royal Convent”.