CHURCH OF SAN GIUSEPPE
The church was originally called Sant'Angelo Maggiore and gave its name to the quarter in which it stands. In 1072, the church was already under the jurisdiction of the
Abbey of Fonte Avellana. In 1576 the Cardinal Commendatore of the same Abbey gave the Confraternity of San Giuseppe use of the church in perpetuity. A major
reconstruction of the church began shortly afterwards. The interior is a single nave which is entered through an
18th Century doorway built into a medieval facade. Gaetano Lapis's The Archangel Michael (1764) stands on the main altar. On either side are two 17th Century frescoes, probably by Cialdieri.
Saint Joseph showing the Virgin and Child and Saints John and Elizabeth has a foreshortened view of the Ducal Palace in Urbino. On the right is Saint Joseph the Carpenter. In the three niches,
set in ornate frames, are a collection of wooden reliquaries brought from Rome in 1611. The interior was modified in 1757. The right altar, dedicated to Saint
Joseph dates from 1578 and is principally the work of Angelo Finale. Three years later, Filippo Finale built the other altar. The two large statues in the niches are of Saint Joseph and
The Madonna of Sorrows.In 1635, the barrel vault ceiling, decorated with mannerist stucco-work, was probably gilded. It is almost entirely
dominated by the central painting of the figure of Charity. Faith and Hope stand in high relief between telemons. The plaster work seems to have been influenced by the work
of Brandani. The 17th Century paintings in the frames are by Cialdieri, later restored by Patanazzi. The cycle of pictures begins at the octagonal picture at the centre of
the vault above the altar which depicts Saint Joseph's Dream in which the angel invites him to marry the Virgin. It is followed by the first large picture to the left, The Marriage of the Virgin,
which is separated from the Visitation by a niche containing the statue of David (a reference to Joseph's descent). David is also recalled in the tondo
where the monochrome painting represents him intently playing his harp. Next there is The Adoration of the Shepherds which is separated from the Circumcision by the statue of Abraham
, and by the tondo of the Sacrifice of Abraham. In the octagon at the centre of the vault is the Presentation in the Temple which is followed by The Adoration of the Magi,
then by the statue of Jacob, and the monochrome scene of the fight with the angel. In the elliptical frame, once more in the centre of the ceiling, is another Dream of Saint Joseph where the
angel advises him to flee. In the large painting on the right, we see Resting during the Flight into Egypt. After the painting of Charity in the elliptical cornice, is The
Return of the Holy Family from Egypt. Next, on the right in the large paintings, is Jesus among the Doctors of the Temple, which is followed, after the statue of Solomon, by
The Judgement of Solomon. The cycle finishes with the Death of Saint Joseph. Inside a niche on the left wall is a fresco, in 14th Century style, of
The Madonna of Milk. The Holy Hermit, which is to be found in the sacristy, has been identified as belonging to the first half of the 14th Century. The figure is identifiable as Saint Anthony Abbot. The organ, which was built by Vincenzo Sormanni in 1633, was heavily modified in the 19th Century. text by Alberto Mazzacchera |
