It is the emblem of the Lecce Baroque, one of the most important and admired churches. From 1549 this immense religious factory began to be built at the request of the Celestine fathers. It stood in place of the ancient temple and monastery, built in the second half of the 1300s in the area of the Charles V Castle. For the construction of the Basilica, completed in 1699, important Lecce architects of the time took turns: Gabriele Riccardi, Francesco Antonio Zimbalo and Cesare Penna with the help of master stonemasons and carvers from the Lecce area.