Chiesa di San Giovanni al Sepolcro

According to local tradition, the Church, of the Norman period (XI century), was built by Boemondo returning from the Crusades. Not even the numerous excavations inside were able to shed light on its origin. The building belonged to the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, in Brindisi already around 1126 and abolished in 1489, the year in which all of their assets passed to the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem and Rhodes. After a long decline, the Church was restored in the nineteenth century and became the seat of the Civic Museum until 1955. The building has a circular plan, with external walls in large blocks of carparo. Noteworthy is the portal lintel, framed by a porch on two columns supported by lions, with capitals with fantastic figures. The jambs of the portal are richly decorated with reliefs depicting scenes that refer to the Old Testament. The frescoed interior, with horseshoe plant, is surrounded by eight columns of marble and granite in support of the new roof.