San Giovanni al Sepolcro

An ancient church in Brindisi Italy

Tucked into a forgotten corner of a sidestreet curved the wall of San Giovanni al Sepolcro, built by the warrior-monk Knights Templar in the twelfth century to imitate the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Liberating this tomb of Christ from the control of the "infidel" Muslims was the goal of all those Crusades, and visiting it was the ultimate goal of all those pilgrims who stopped to pray at the cave churches of Matera and Mottola. They were not only crossing Europe to pay homage to the saints. Their sights were set on Palestine, a chance to touch the Holy Sepulchre itself and commune with their God.

This tiny church, its ornately carved portal abounding with centaurs and boys riding elephants, was one last, tantalizing stop for them, offering an architectural taste of what was to come: the truly holy relic of a shard from Christ's tomb. Chipping away at this Holy Sepulchre became the official sport of piglrims and Crusaders who made the trip from Brindisi to Jerusalem, and these days chruches across Italy and beyond lay proud claim to a chunk of rock supposedly from Christ's tomb.