St. Joseph's church - Rustico

St. Joseph's church, the third one in the municipality, was built in Rustico between 1907 and 1934 to replace the small Chapel of St. Lucy, now demolished. The building, in a very simple Art Nouveau style without excessive decoration and rectangular in plan with two side chapels, is leaning against the rectory on one side and the bell tower on the other; once, on the façade, a faux rose window was embellished with a ceramic decoration. The complex, for its characteristics of sobriety and straightforwardness, reflects the character and sentiment of local people. The history of its construction is quite troubled: begun in 1907 it was immediately interrupted due to lack of funds, resumed in the 1920s on the engineer Francesco Podesti 's design, it was almost finished in 1932, completed in 1934 and consecrated in 1936, but only after the war in 1950 it was elevated to Parish status. Rectangular in plan and with the long sides twice the size of the short ones, it is equipped with furnishings for which the then parish priest, Monsignor Ragnini, worked hard: after having built the choir, he managed to equip the church with altars, paintings and organ at different times. Unfortunately, the building was severely damaged by the 2016 earthquake which made it unfit for use. Because of the lack of large sums of money to restore and to bring the building up to standards the church is still inaccessible. The following paintings contained inside the church are of some artistic interest: 1) "Virgin Enthroned with Child, St. Lucy and St. Agatha," 2) "Madonna Enthroned with Child, St. John and St. Catherine of Alexandria," 3) "Immaculate conception, with St. John the Baptist and St. Francis of Assisi."