Ex Chiesa San Felice (Sala San Felice)
(4th-20th century)
The church of St. Felix was built in the fourth century on the remains of an ancient pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Venus and it was once the town’s cathedral. Known as the “iuxta muros” church because it was built near the walls which surrounded the town, it stood proudly in the heart of Giovinazzo. For centuries the centre of religious ceremonies and community devotion, this church had a troubled past.
On 15th January 1691 the building was devoured by a terrible fire. The unstoppable flames consumed wood and stone, leaving behind only ashes and the worshippers looked on helplessly while the spiritual centre of their community was destroyed. Despite the attempts of Bishop Giacinto Chiurlia to restore the church, it never returned to its former glory. At the end of the nineteenth century, the building was in a state of disrepair and the decision was made to completely abandon it. The furnishings were given away and only a few valuable pieces were saved. One of these was the painting of San Felice Vescovo in Cattedra by Lorenzo Lotto, commissioned in 1542 by a merchant from Barletta for the inhabitants of Giovinazzo. The painting is the central part of a triptych depicting St. Felix with St. Anthony of Padua and St. Nicholas of Tolentine. The precious work has been restored many times and is now housed in the Church of San Domenico.
In the meantime, the ruined ancient cathedral was left abandoned. The altars were destroyed, tombs were violated and bones scattered: all that was left of what was sacred. Monsignor Pasquale Picone did not have the necessary funds for repairs and was forced to sell the ruins to the State. In 1911 Mayor Giuseppe Palombella put an end to this abomination and the mortal remains that were buried in the church’s sepulchres were moved to the town cemetery. The precarious parts of the building were demolished and the church was transformed into a public market. Decades later in the 1990s, the noble and worthy initiative of Mayor Francesco Milillo restored dignity to what was left of the ancient church and the space was redeveloped, becoming a cultural centre, the “Sala San Felice” for conferences and exhibitions where the history of Giovinazzo continues to live on.
