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The Sanctuary of St Joseph of Leonessa: the devotional heart of the Rieti hill town
In the historic centre of Leonessa, along the Corso (main street) that runs through the village at the foot of Monte Tilia, stands the Santuario di San Giuseppe da Leonessa (Sanctuary of St Joseph of Leonessa), built in the birthplace of Capuchin friar Eufranio Desideri (1556–1612). The Baroque building houses the remains of the patron saint, stolen from Amatrice in 1639 after an earthquake and concealed for nearly a century beneath the floor.
Two domes and a contested history
The foundation stone was laid in 1629. Between 1737 and 1746, Roman architect Filippo Brioni expanded the church for the canonisation, linking two circular halls covered by domes. The frescoes of the smaller dome are by Leonessa-born painter Giacinto Boccanera, a pupil of Guido Reni: the four Evangelists appear in the pendentives, while the vault depicts the Glory of the Saints in Paradise. In 1912 Virginio Monti decorated the larger dome.
The incorrupt heart of the saint
The 19th-century mausoleum displays the urn containing the saint's body. At the first altar on the left, a 17th-century silver reliquary preserves the saint's heart, donated in 1646 by Cardinal Francesco Maria Farnese. Beneath the glazed floor, the remains of his birthplace, rediscovered in 1994, can be glimpsed. The organ dates to 1759, constructed by German builder Johann Conrad Werle.
