San Giuseppe (St Joseph) is a
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
-style,
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church located in the piazza of the same name, across the street from the church of
San Domenico, on the island of
Ortigia
Ortygia ( ; ; ) is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as the (Old City), contains many historical landmarks.
The name originates from the Ancient Greek (), which means "quail". ...
, in the historic city center of
Siracusa in Sicily, Italy.
Description
Like many churches in Siracusa, early documentation is sparse. The present church was built in the 18th century, atop the ruins of a church dedicated to San Fantino. That church had followed
Greek orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...
rites. To raise the funds to build a new church, the Confraternity of the ''Falegnami'' (carpenters), sold their prior church, San Giuseppe il Vecchio, located on vicolo Santa Anna to the Congregation of the ''Coccieri e Staffieri'' (coachmen and grooms). That old church was soon demolished.
Construction of San Giuseppe was led by Carmelo Bonaiuto, named Carancino, and completed in 1773. The piazza in past centuries was surrounded by two large monasteries: that of Aracoeli and San Domenico. The latter's church is across the piazza. Also across the piazza is the former Palazzo Midiri, now home to a nautical institute.
The front and lateral portals of the church are approached through stairs. Atop the portal are two heraldic shields, one surmounted by a crown.
The church is badly in need of repairs, both inside and the exterior. The niches in the exterior are bare. The interior once housed a copy of
Caravaggio's altarpiece depicting the ''
Burial of St Lucy'' by his follower
Mario Minniti
Mario Minniti (8 December 1577 – 22 November 1640) was an Italian Baroque painter active in Sicily after 1606.
Born in Syracuse, Sicily, he arrived in Rome in 1593, where he became the friend, collaborator, and model of the key Baroque paint ...
. The church has suffered from vandalism and burglary.
[Derived from ''Architettura religiosa in Ortigia'' by Lucia Acerra; Ediprint (1995); cited i]
Antonio Randazzo
site describing churches of Syracuse.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giuseppe Siracusa
18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy