Chiesetta di San Giuseppe
This small religious building originated as an oratory for shepherds, but from the early 1700s, it was the subject of several commissions to important artists of the time: from the altar made by Bernardo Tabacco, to the statues above it crafted by Giuseppe Torretti, to the four oval paintings now in the Diocesan Museum of Feltre, created by Sebastiano Ricci, Girolamo Brusaferro, Angelo Trevisani, and Federico Bencovich.
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The History
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The villa was rebuilt by the Fabris family at the beginning of the eighteenth century; this family had been admitted to the council of nobles of the city of Feltre in 1705.
The owner, Giovanni Iseppo Fabris, in 1719 had the current oratory erected, transforming it into the private chapel of the villa. Fabris was a canon of the cathedral chapter of Feltre and, at considerable expense, provided the small place of worship with sacred and dignified furnishings, as well as silverware and precious paintings.
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The façade is very simple, with the entrance topped by a broken pediment and two Tuscan pilasters on either side supporting a plain pediment, within which there is a small quatrefoil window. The staircase, built in 1949, adds an elegant vertical thrust. The dedication and devotional address are inscribed on the plaque above the entrance door: “Jesus, Mary, Joseph,” thus dedicating it not only to Saint Joseph but to all members of the Holy Family. An internal inscription highlights this devotion and records the name of the cleric and the date 1719.
Inside, one can admire the decoration arranged as a harmonious concert of stuccoes, paintings, and sculptures. The quality of the artistic choices commissioned reflects an intellectual calibre and cultural awareness that were decidedly uncommon. It was also a means to gain prestige in the eyes of the Bishop of Feltre, Antonio Polcenigo, who is portrayed by the Feltrine painter Girolamo Turro in an oval on the counter-façade (1720). Under the high auspices of the bishop, the project was brought to completion.
The nave is dominated by the altar in polychrome marbles, made in 1722 by Bernardo Tabacco from Bassano, and adorned by statues by Giuseppe Torretti senior, perhaps the most significant sculptor of the early eighteenth century in Venice.
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The magnificent sculptural group moves with an almost Baroque theatricality: at the centre stands the Holy Family, watched over on each side by the slender figures of Saint John the Evangelist and Saint James the Apostle, identifiable by the shell on his cloak—a symbol of pilgrims going to Santiago.
The nave walls are punctuated by pilasters that illusionistically support the cornice, on which rest the vaults profiled in stucco, organising the spaces in which the refined decoration is set. Behind the altar, in the lunette on the rear wall, a mistilinear frame encloses the Trinity by Girolamo Turro.
The walls of the nave are enriched by four large ovals, now kept in the Diocesan Museum of Feltre (photographic reproductions are present on site), framed in stucco. They depict moments from the earthly family of Jesus and are by some of the main protagonists of eighteenth-century Venetian painting:
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Sebastiano Ricci (1659–1734), Adoration of the Shepherds: characterised by luminous colouring
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Federico Bencovich, a painter of Dalmatian origin (1677–1753), Flight into Egypt: a tormented depiction, compressed against a dark and threatening background and delineated with lines of light with a near expressionistic violence
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Girolamo Brusaferro, Jesus in the Temple among the Doctors
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Angelo Trevisani, The Passing of Saint Joseph
To the left is a smaller altar. The altarpiece is by the Venetian painter Angelo Trevisani (1667–1746) and depicts the Madonna of the Rosary with Saints Dominic, Anthony of Padua, Francis of Assisi, Nicholas, Francis of Paola, and Peter of Alcantara (currently held in deposit at the Diocesan Museum).
The roof and façades have been recently restored thanks to funding from the PNRR Mission 1, Component 3 – Culture 4.0 (M1C3), Measure 2, Investment 2.2: Protection and enhancement of architecture and rural landscape.
The little Church of Saint Joseph is open to visitors by appointment as part of guided tours organised by the owner, Enzo Guanieri (tel. 3288175881).