Located in the historical heart of Ugento, along an ancient pilgrim’s route, is the Church of San Lorenzo – a virtually forgotten treasure today. Just a few decades ago, the night of August 10th would see these narrow lanes burst to life with a vibrant district festival. It was a time of joyous song and delicious food, all in honor of the saint whom popular imagination associates with wishes and shooting stars.
The exterior of the little church presents a facade of straightforward design, thoughtfully restored in recent times. Above, a petite bell tower rises, its bell still faithfully rung by hand.
Access to the interior of the Church of San Lorenzo is, however, restricted to special openings. If you are granted the rare opportunity to enter, you will encounter a place where the relentless march of time is palpable: visible in the crumbling plaster, the accumulated paint layers on the Baroque altar, the faded borders of the lime frame that formerly held the depiction of San Lorenzo’s martyrdom, and the expanse of the wall above the altar.
The Canvas of Martyrdom and the Baroque Altar
After restoration, this canvas is now housed in the diocesan museum of Ugento, but sometimes it returns home. Its identity card is summarized in the bottom right box – take a good look: you can read the signature of the painter, Marcino di Ruffano, who created it in 1770 at the request of Pastor Milelli. Another interesting and somewhat hidden detail can be seen in the figure of the angel in the bottom left: he holds a grill, a symbol of San Lorenzo’s torture, as he was burned alive.
In short, the Church of San Lorenzo in Ugento is a concentration of art and history in a single room with a barrel vault and humble wooden benches. A small and simple, yet fascinating, little church, at least as much as its origins: its construction seems to date back to the 16th-17th century, according to some sources commissioned by Donna Vittoria Piscicelli d’Amore, according to others by the Venetian Lorenzo de Girardi.
Via Salentina, the Itinerary of Faith in Ugento
Certainly, in this corner of the village, you breathe an air of peace, and the past extends its hand to the present, in a single loop. Like the loop of faith and spirituality that connects the places of worship in Ugento along the ancient Via Salentina: along the same path as the Church of San Lorenzo, a short distance away you can visit the Sanctuary of the “Madonna della Luce”, the Church of the “Madonna delle Grazie”, the “Crypt of the Crucifix”, the Church of the “Madonna of Constantinople”, and heading back towards the town, the Sanctuary of the “Saintly Doctors, Cosmas and Damian”
A perfect walking or cycling itinerary if you want to listen to a beauty that speaks to the soul: from the historic center to the village, and out into the countryside.
