Church of San Giuseppe in Racalmuto

La Church of San Giuseppe in Racalmutoin province of Agrigento, is a place that has so much to offer in terms of history, architectural beauty and what it represents for the community. Furthermore, it is from this church that the celebrations in honor of San Giuseppe, which take place every year on March 19, with the traditional St. Joseph's Table.

The history of the church of San Giuseppe in Racalmuto

Racalmuto is known above all for being the village that gave birth to an extraordinary writer and teacher like Leonardo Sciascia. However, the town has so much more to offer its visitors starting from the Church of San Giuseppe. It is a structure whose construction was started in 1691 as shown by some historical documents found in the parish archives.

The interventions lasted for about a decade due to some difficulties. In particular, the construction was rather slow, albeit not excessively, due to the scarce capital available to the Compagnia di San Giuseppe which in fact firmly wanted the construction of the church in Racalmuto. In 1697 the main structure of the church was completed but subsequently new interventions were started to complete the bell tower which took 11 years.

Towards the end of the century, however, there were some changes and in particular there was the construction of a new bell tower and extraordinary maintenance was planned for the church which had been damaged by the passage of time and some seismic events.

Also during the twentieth century the church underwent important restorations with a transformation that took place in 1930 when it was decided to move from a first plan with three masonry altars to a new alternative solution with five wooden altars, 2 of which were finished in gold. In the same period, extensions were made again to the bell tower to insert a third bell as can be appreciated today.

The characteristics of the church in Racalmuto

The church is located in Piazza Umberto I and was built with a single nave which includes the apse and an external facade finished with a natural stone carved by the masters of the time. Although there is only one nave, when the renovation was carried out two side entrances were inserted, one of which allows you to get directly to the sacristy.

As for the main altar located in the apse and obviously dedicated to the figure of St. Joseph, it has niches in which some martyr saints have been inserted who are venerated by the town. Overall inside, in addition to the five wooden altars, one sixth can be counted and there are various artistic and cultural works of a certain importance including the magnificent medallions that have been painted in oil on canvas.

What to see in Racalmuto

On the territory of the town of Racalmuto it is possible to appreciate many other religious architectures that characterize its urban planning including the Church of St. Francis, church of San Nicolò or the sanctuary of Maria Santissima del Monte and without forgetting the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. There are even proposals for lovers of civil architecture with the Queen Margherita Foundation Theatre which was built between 1870 and 1880 by the then mayor Gaspare Matrona. Among other attractions that pique the interest of visitors is the Castelluccio from the Norman era which is located a few kilometers from the town center in addition to the Sciascia house that is, the structure in which he lived most of his childhood and adolescence and in which he began to write his first books which later became famous and appreciated all over the world.

How to reach Racalmuto

To reach the center of Racalmuto coming from Agrigento it is possible to follow a route of only 22 kilometers along the SS640 state road. Instead, coming from Caltanissetta, the route is 39 km and you still have to take the SS640 state road.