The Chiesa Matrice (Mother Church), Mesagne’s symbol of religiosity, rises in the most inhabited part of the town. It displays the aspect bestowed upon it by its designer in the XVII century, the Mesagnese architect and cleric Francesco Capodieci who was responsible for its reconstruction.

The oldest edifice was probably built in the XIV century under Roberto D’Angiò, or in the XV century with the feudal lord GiannAntonio Del Balzo Orsini, but no documentation exists that can confirm these hypotheses.

Local historians, however, give us precise references regarding three periods in particular. The first reference is from the years 1577 and 1587; years in which the church underwent expansions of the choir and the sacristy.

The second, between 1649 and 1660, was a period in which the church was rebuilt by the architect Francesco Capodieci after a collapse which was the result of unknown causes. We also know that the University of Mesagne acquired the old episcopal palazzo in 1654 which was unstable at that point in order to provide a space for the current bell tower and sacristy.

During that period, the estate of Mesagne belonged to the De Angelis family which contributed in a significant way to modify the medieval aspect of the town with the church of Saint Anne, the building of the piazza opposite and the restructuring of the Palazzo Baronale.

Between 1660 and 1670 the new church was completed with a wooden choir; the altars and paintings in the most part created by the Mesagnese artist Gianleonardo Cunavi.

For almost a century the lines of the collegiate were not modified until the earthquake on the 20^th February 1743 which caused enormous damage throughout the Terra d’Otranto (Otranto region).

The third period, therefore, is that between 1776 and 1770, when, due to the damage caused by the earthquake of 1743, significant work was required. The engineer from Monopoli, Giuseppe Palmieri, created the current vaulted roof.

After the construction of the vaulted roof, various workers took turns to carry out the the internal stucco decorations; the altar principally in polychrome marble, the wooden decor, the side altars and numerous canvas paintings. For the stuccoes, the master Neapolitan plasterers Pasquale Faiella, Michele Garofalo and Saverio Mazzarella were employed. The wooden decor, from 1773, was created by the master Mesagnese carpenters Rocco Leopardi, Innocenzo Rizzo and Carmine de Mitri. The organ, however, dates from 1777 and was made by the maestro Giovanni Valle.

But returning to the work of Francesco Capodieci, the mother Church can be considered one of the most original and significant examples of the Leccese Baroque. In this church, architecture and sculpture are skilfully applied; above all in the majestic facade. 

The church presents three articulated orders of pilasters respectively Ionic, Corinthian and composites; interrupted by three trabeated beams, the first bearing the inscription of the building. There are also recesses with sculptures of saints, a low relief of the Madonna del Carmine and the crest of the city. The portal is surmounted by the statue of Saint Oronzo, Antea and Coroebus. The facade is surmounted by a large pediment on which four angels gaze at the Cristo Risorto (Christ Reborn) which was destroyed in the eighteenth century.

The inside of the church presents a Latin cross plan with a single nave. The main body of the church has ogival vaults, lightened by pointed arch lunettes which house the windows that illuminate the whole church. At the crossing (intersection) of the nave with the transept the cupola rises on four pendentives. The presbytery and choir appear in an elevated position in relation to the nave and below these the crypt is situated which is accessed via an elegant stairway with balustrade.

The choir, with its eighteenth century wooden backbenches, is unique in Mesagne as the choirs in the other churches have disappeared for reasons unknown. Amongst the columns one finds the chapels, endowed with stone altars. Most of the canvases were painted after the stuccoes were created. Those in place prior to the stuccoes were modified, such as the painting depicting Saint Oronzo who protects the city. This painting is of particular historical significance because it provides us with an image of the fortified town as it appeared in the 1600s.

The large canvas painting of the Adoration of the Shepherds was also modified. It was painted by Gian Pietro Zullo (Mesagne 1557 – 1619), completed by Andrea Cunavi (Mesagne 1586 – Ostuni 1626) and enlarged by Domenico Pinca (Mesagne 1746 – 1813). The canvas by the Neapolitan painter Giuseppe Bonito, depicting the Madonna del Carmine, is of particular value. The painting of the Assumption of Maria di Saverio Lillo was painted in 1772 by Ruffano (1708 – 1789). The paintings of The Last Supper, The Martyrdom of Saint Peter and Christ chasing the merchants from the temple were all by the Mesagnese painter Domenico Pinca.