The final sprint to complete restoration work at the Church of the Rosary in Lecce.

The restoration of the façade of the Basilica of San Giovanni Battista al Rosario, known to many as the Church of the Rosary, in Lecce is a race against time. Work began on October 2nd and must be completed no later than June 2026. Since the project is funded to the tune of €1 million by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), it must meet the June 30th deadline set by the plan. In the meantime, free visits to the site can be made through November 29th through the website of the company responsible for the work, Marullo Costruzioni: cantiereapertomarullo.it.

The tours, titled "... and now look down!", involve accredited tour guides who accompany visitors on a close-up discovery of the church's secrets. Commissioned by the wealthy local lord Giovanni d'Aymo, mistakenly listed as a saint due to a misunderstanding surrounding the church's name, it was commissioned as a minor basilica in 1948 by Pius XII, who confirmed its entrustment to the Dominican Fathers. The basilica holds a record in the city: at 30 meters, it is the tallest of Lecce's historic churches.

During tours, visitors can admire the beauty of details up close, such as the winged horses, pomegranates, two-tailed sirens, and the curious story of the saint with a rifle in his hand, Luis Bertrán. These were sculpted by four great masters of the time: Salvatore Miccoli, later replaced by the celebrated, but now seventy-year-old Giuseppe Zimbalo—who wished to be buried directly beneath the basilica, although its exact location is still unknown—Julius Caesar Penna the Younger, and Leonardo Protopapa. Furthermore, visitors will enjoy the view of the basilica's bell tower, difficult to see from the street, and the breathtaking view of the entire city.

The restoration work includes securing and mitigating seismic risk, cleaning and strengthening the Baroque decorative apparatus and all the projecting parts that characterize the building.