San Giuseppe a via Nomentana, Catholic church in Rome, Italy.
San Giuseppe a via Nomentana is a Romanesque Revival church in Rome's Nomentano district, built 1904–1905 to a design by Carlo Maria Busiri Vici. Its facade is in exposed brick, with a three-arch portico on pale columns, a central rose window with a stone cross lattice, and a mosaic of the coats of arms of Pius X and the Lateran Canons. The interior has three naves ending in an apse decorated in Cosmatesque style by Eugenio Cisterna, with a statue of Saint Joseph by Francesco Nagni.
A chapel dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, built in 1742 by Nicola Salvi for Cardinal Mario Bolognetti's Villa Bolognetti, stood on this site until it was demolished in 1902 to widen the street. The Lateran Canons, who ran Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura, proposed a new church as the population along Via Nomentana grew after 1870; the land was bought from the Patrizi family in 1899. Luigi Monti's plan for a huge basilica was dropped for lack of funds, and Carlo Maria Busiri Vici's Romanesque Revival design was built in 1904–1905 and consecrated on 12 October 1905 by Cardinal Pietro Respighi.
The church is still a parish run by the Canons Regular of the Most Holy Saviour of the Lateran, to whom Pius X entrusted it in 1905. Its name recalls the older chapel of the Natività di Maria, demolished in 1902 to widen the street; its site now lies under the pavement just left of the facade. On 24 April 1930 the church hosted the wedding of Edda Mussolini and Galeazzo Ciano.
The church stands on Via Nomentana in the Nomentano district, set back from the street behind a portico of three arches on two pale columns, with the outer two arches serving as doorways. The facade faces the road, so it is reached directly from the pavement. It is an active parish church, so access may be limited during services.
The church was meant to be Rome's main centre of devotion to Saint Joseph, but the money ran out and the honour went to San Giuseppe al Trionfale instead. The bell tower in the original design was never built, and work on the interior decoration paused after the death of Luigi Santini, abbot-general of the Lateran Canons and the project's main patron.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,478 contributors worldwide.