Knockin´on heaven´s door

The art of knocking on doors in baroque Italy

The baroque doorknockers of Lecce, Italy

This summer took me down to the high heel of Italy, all the way down the boot. The region is called Puglia and is mostly visited by Italians as it takes a solid drive to get down there -too far for most mortal tourists.

While strolling around the old city of Lecce - a masterpiece of baroque architecture I came across the most amazing piece of art that I have seen in a long time. It immediately enchanted me with its fine elegance and its quality craftsmanship.  On the front door of an old mansion was a very realistic female hand that seemed to wear an elegant silk blouse, holding an iron ball, inviting you to touch her and... bang her !

This surely must be the most beautiful door knocker of baroque Lecce.

Lecce must have been once the place to be, as a vast collection of aristocratic mansions proves. The houses are huge ! They use the architectonical language of power: huge facades with at least 5m high ceilings and few huge windows facing the road. These houses often conceal an inner courtyard so that the inner rooms of the house face away from the street, the noise and the plebs.

Typical aristocratic mansions in downtown Lecce

Not long ago, only a hundred years or so, there was no electricity. It was before door bells corrupted the door culture and the art of knocking on doors was a way of life. In Lecce, through the decadent competition between it´s nobility, it flourished into incredible expressions of hospitality and art.

The door knocker that knocked me off of my feet !

The first quality of a door knocker is to generate a generous amount of noise. Lecce door knockers are heavy and cast in iron. They come in all kinds of forms, such as swans, sea lions, fish, lions, or human faces and more.

The second quality is strength. These door knockers have been hammered for a couple of hundred years and are still going strong !

The third quality is design. The well to do would differentiate themselves by starring their own specially designed knocker. The hand above is a fine example of going a different path.

The fish below another.

Popular baroque ornaments are ocean creatures 

 This fish door knocker is quite  amazing and repeats architectonical ornaments that are part of the facade of the mansion. This door knocker belongs to one of the older buildings in Lecce. 

It is quite a shame that the art of knocking on doors has nearly completely vanished. 

By the way, door knockers don´t use electricity and thus reduce our carbon footprint.  Rip out your old door bell, buy a door knocker and save the world !