St. Anthony of Padua

Abstract

This statue of St. Anthony of Padua is located in the Chapel of St. Anthony on the left of the central nave in the Cathedral of Lecce. The expense and reverence for St. Anthony, a Franciscan who dedicated himself to poverty, is conveyed by the extravagant use of precious metals. St. Anthony's robes are entirely gold-gilded. He stands in a niche which is entirely gilt with silver and decorated with three-dimensional gold-gilded stars and flowers. St. Anthony holds an open book in his left hand, on which the Baby Jesus has appeared. In his right hand, he holds a lily branch. A laurel wreath crown frames his head, and a rosary is draped from his waist. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.