San Giacomo di Compostela, one of the most beautiful churches in Ostuni

 The church of San Giacomo di Compostela was built by the Caballero family, noblemen from Brindisi who had fled their town, in the early 15th century.

In 1423 it was Pietro Caballero himself who commissioned several artists to build the Church of San Giacomo di Compostela, destined to become the most important monument in the old quarter after the cathedral, despite its small size but with many valuable architectural elements inside. Over the centuries it has unfortunately been remodelled, but its characteristic elements can still be appreciated today, starting with its Gothic arch divided into panels depicting plants, flowers and animals with two zoomorphic caryatids supporting it. Caballero wanted the church to be decorated with frescoes, so he commissioned the work from artists from Galatina with important work experience behind them.

The church’s liturgical vestments were rich and precious: a silver chalice, priest’s robes, one of which was solemn, missals, the books needed for liturgical functions and an icon, made in the Venetian manner with representations of many saints, for the price of 40 ducats.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the town representatives elected St Irene as the ‘least important patron saint of the town’ and chose the Church of San Giacomo di Compostela to venerate her. An altarpiece by the Ostuni artist Francesco Morgese was placed on the high altar, depicting the saint with the image of the city at her feet, as it appeared at the beginning of the 18th century.

During the consolidation of the surrounding walls in 1995, it was noted that the frescoes so desired by the original patrons were still inside the church under layers of lime.

However, the priest Don Fabio Tolla replaced it with statues of Saints Cosimo and Damiano made by the prolific Lecce papier-mâché artist Raffaele Caretta (1871-1950). This is why the church is still popularly referred to by the people of Ostuni as the Church of San Cosimo.

Anyone visiting Ostuni should consider walking through the narrow white streets of the old town centre to the church of San Giacomo di Compostela, which is one of the most beautiful and evocative places in the “white city”, known throughout the world for its uniqueness.