Carmine, Baroque church building in Lecce, Italy

The Church of Carmine is a baroque church building in Lecce featuring a three-tiered facade decorated with biblical statues. Inside, six chapels line the walls and create a structured arrangement of spaces.

Carmelites reached Lecce in 1481, settling outside Porta San Biagio. After an earthquake in 1546 they moved inside the walls to San Nicola, dedicated to the Madonna del Carmelo, where they built the monastery and later the present church. The first stone was laid on 15 July 1711 to a design by Giuseppe Cino, who worked there until his death in 1722; Mauro Manieri completed it in 1737.

The name comes from the Carmelite order, whose friars moved here in 1546 after an earthquake and dedicated the church to the Madonna del Carmelo. The wooden coffered ceiling holds a painting of the Virgin handing the scapular to Saint Simon Stock, an early work by the Neapolitan painter Paolo Finoglio.

The building is located in the center of Lecce and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should know that this is an active place of worship and should be mindful of ongoing services.

The interior floorplan follows an unusual shape resembling the outline of a foot. This rare architectural choice is often overlooked by visitors even as they walk through it.