Baroque Altar Reinstalled at Santa Maria di Cerrate Abbey

The Baroque altar of the Virgin of Cerrate, dating to 1642, has been reinstalled in the left nave of the Church of the Abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate near Lecce, Italy, after being dismantled in the 1968-1971 restoration by architect Franco Minissi. The altar, considered extraneous to the original Romanesque structure, was removed and stored in blocks in the external courtyard until 2012. Following the FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano taking over the abbey in 2012, the 26 surviving pieces were collected, catalogued, restored, and reassembled. The restoration included mechanical cleaning, disinfestation, consolidation, and archaeological investigations to determine the exact placement. The altar now sits on a Lecce stone platform with its sculptural elements, and a new painting by local artist Nicola Ancona replaces the lost 17th-century original. The abbey, founded between the 11th and 12th centuries, reopened to visitors in April 2018 after a two-year restoration. The altar's return confirms the Byzantine origin and identity of the church.