Place of excellence for the rites of Holy Week in Pulsano and home to the homonymous Archconfraternity. In the historical center, facing the castle, stands the Church of Purgatorio, home of the venerable Archconfraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. The single-nave building with star vaults features a unique altar in local tufa inlaid in bas-relief dating back to 1671, surmounted by an eighteenth-century painting depicting the Madonna of Carmel interceding for some souls in Purgatory, created by the artist Pietro Bianchi, a member of a famous family of painters from Manduria.
Incorporated within the altar is a Sculpture of the Dead Christ, a wooden monolith sculpted and painted in 1800 by Giuseppe Pagano, a Neoclassical Neapolitan artist who also participated in the marble decoration of the famous chapel in the Cathedral of St. Cataldo in Taranto.
In the perimeter walls are placed the venerated simulacra of the procession of Good Friday in Pulsano: the first four statues (Jesus in the garden, at the column, Ecce Homo, and Jesus falling under the weight of his cross) are multi-material works from 1837-39 by the sculptor from Ostuni, Giuseppe Greco, along with a crucified Christ made of papier-mâché and a Sorrowful Madonna dressed in mourning clothes. Completing the sculptural ensemble is the effigy of the Confraternity's protector, placed inside a glass niche next to the altar.
Next to the small church is the sacristy, used as a meeting place for the confreres and consorelle and home to the Confraternal Historical Archive, which among the most interesting documents includes the original statute dating back to 1760, commissioned by the spiritual father Don Francesco Pignataro.
