Chiesa del Cristo, church building in Brindisi, Italy

The chiesa del Cristo is a 13th-century church in Brindisi, founded in 1232 by the Dominican friar Nicola Paglia di Giovinazzo. Its facade has alternating courses of white and grey stone, a crowning row of stepped arches, and a large rose window. Inside, a single nave with a truss roof leads through a pointed triumphal arch to a 15th-century apse.

The church was founded in 1232 by Dominican Nicola Paglia and was part of a complex with a convent that closed in 1813. Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the apse was reduced and the choir demolished to strengthen city defenses near Porta Lecce.

The church is also called chiesa di San Domenico after the Dominican friars who settled here in 1232. The name del Cristo comes from the painted wooden Crucifix at the main altar, probably of German workmanship and counted among the finest 13th-century wooden sculptures in Puglia. Beside the entrance stands a Madonna in trono carved by an Italo-French sculptor.

The church sits in the center of Brindisi and is easily reached while walking through the old town. The interior is straightforward and can be visited without spending much time finding your way around.

Inside is a wooden crucifix from the 12th century that according to legend arrived from Egypt on a Venetian ship but became too heavy to move back on board. Local tradition says only one finger of the crucifix was taken to Venice.