"From the outside, the church appears very beautiful, well-maintained, and well-restored. It is easily accessible within the perimeter of old Lucera. I'll add some historical information. The Church of San Domenico, commissioned by the Angevins in the first half of the 14th century, is one of the city's major religious buildings.

Built by Charles II of Anjou, the Church of San Domenico was constructed with material from Arab warehouses abandoned by the Saracens, who were driven out of Lucera in the 14th century. Since the 15th century, it has been an important center of theological and artistic research.

Originally in the Gothic-Angevin style, the church was significantly modified in the 18th century and converted into a sumptuous Baroque style, as evidenced by the addition of eight marble chapels, the rich decorative elements, and above all the original checkerboard façade, which houses the portal with the Dominican coat of arms.

The single-nave interior is enriched with numerous side niches, which house precious altars. The left side wall is punctuated by elegant single-lancet windows, dominated by the Angevin coat of arms. On the right side, a chapel with a domed roof was built in the 16th century, leading to the oratory dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary.

The church was adjacent to a convent housing Dominican monks, which was confiscated by the Italian state with the advent of Italian unification and used as a Carabinieri barracks. The church of San Domenico was returned to its former splendor with the most recent restorations in 1999, which allowed it to reopen for worship after being closed following the earthquake of November 1980."

Gian Domenico Silvestrone

"The religious building was built on the site of former Arab warehouses, using their materials. It was one of the symbols of the city's rediscovered Christianity, after nearly a century of presence by the Muslim colony of Frederick II. After the expulsion of the Saracens in 1300, Charles II of Anjou transformed Lucera, building many churches, including the Church of San Francesco and the Cathedral. Thus began the era of the Civitas Santae Mariae (Holy Mary), as opposed to the Luceria Saracenorum (Saintly City) that preceded it. The church and the adjoining convent were important centers of theological and artistic research since the 15th century.

However, little remains of the original Gothic-Angevin architectural style: the building was remodeled in the Baroque style in the late 18th century. The beautiful façade, characterized by a geometric interplay of forms, dates back to this period: the entrance portal features a sculpted architrave with the Virgin holding the Child, Saint Dominic on the left holding a book and torch, and Blessed Agostino Casotti and the order's coat of arms on the right. On the right of the façade is the Chapel of the Rosary, built in the late 18th century. With its original domed roof, which earned it the name "Pantheon," it was the mortuary chapel of the Brothers of the Rosary. The oratory, built on the western side of the church, now the Chapel of Saint Joseph, dates back to the early 1500s.

The interior has a single nave with eight side chapels, which house precious altars.

The chapels on the left are dedicated to: Saint Peter Martyr, the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Saint Vincent Ferrer, and Blessed Agostino Casotti. The chapels on the right are dedicated to: St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Rose of Lima, St. Dominic, and the Virgin of the Rosary. Each chapel houses a canvas or altarpiece dedicated to its owner.

At the center of the apse is the sumptuous high altar, richly decorated with inlays and sculptures. But the most valuable element is the wooden choir by the master Fabrizio Iannulo da Monopoli: meticulously carved, it features 28 reredos with figures of Saints and Blesseds of the Dominican Order, and a statue of Christ tied to the Column at the center. The panels are separated by 26 small columns and 4 half-columns on the two corners, all decorated with floral motifs and adorned with a frame of cherub heads and other decorations that support small tables in the shape of winged sphinxes. #Visitlucera"

Michele Schiavitto

"The church of San Domenico was built in 1700 and belonged to the followers of St. Dominic, known as the Dominicans. The Baroque-style church still houses the altarpieces, rectangular panels with hand-painted figures of the Madonna and Child flanked by other saints. Currently, there are two altarpieces: one dedicated to Blessed Agostino Casotti and the other to the Madonna del Roario. On either side are two marble statues depicting angels. An imposing, majestic church, beautiful inside, with marble altars. The altarpieces on the right side depict the Virgin Mary of the Rosary, St. Rose of Lima, and St. Thomas Aquinas, while on the left side of the church is the altarpiece of the Nativity, the canvas of St. Peter, that of St. Vincent Ferrer, and that of Blessed Angelo Casotti. Behind the high altar is the choir, entirely of carved wood, with 26 small statues representing saints of the Dominican order. It is an artistic church that absolutely must be seen to be appreciated."

Michelangelo Pizzi