Pinacoteca "R. Caracciolo", Religious art museum in Lecce, Italy

The Pinacoteca "R. Caracciolo" is a museum of religious art housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Fulgenzio in Lecce. Its nine exhibition rooms cover more than 400 m² and hold 16th- to 18th-century paintings from Franciscan convents in Puglia, largely derived from Luca Giordano and Solimena, with works by Oronzo Tiso and Serafino Elmo. The lower floor displays 19th-century Lecce papier-mâché sacred statuary and a sacra conversazione attributed to Stefano da Putignano.

The Pinacoteca is owned by the Franciscan friars and is housed in the 16th-century Palazzo Fulgenzio in Lecce, arranged in nine exhibition rooms over more than 400 m². Its paintings, mainly 16th- to 18th-century works linked to Luca Giordano and Solimena, come from Franciscan convents in Puglia. The lower floor holds the sacred statuary wing, with 19th-century Lecce papier-mâché works and a Holy Conversation attributed to Stefano da Putignano.

Many of the paintings on display come from Franciscan convents across the Salento region and show sacred figures and religious scenes from the 16th and 17th centuries. Alongside the paintings, the museum holds objects of sacred art such as reliquaries, crucifixes and wooden sculptures that show how faith was practiced in daily life.

A visit is only possible with a prior reservation, so it is worth checking the official website and booking in advance. Comfortable shoes are a good idea since the building has old rooms and passageways to walk through.

This is the only institution in Europe that holds such a large group of baroque and Counter-Reformation works of Franciscan origin. Many of these paintings would have disappeared had De Tommaso not retrieved them before the convents were abandoned.