Scylla: the church of St. Joseph in Chianalea

What is it and where is the church of St. Joseph in Chianalea

"Year 1571. A divozione de Padrono Giacomo and Nunzio Matia and their crew." This is the dedication that can be read on the pedestal of the venerated statue of St. Joseph, protector of the family and fathers, but also patron saint of carpenters and joiners, thus of the shipwrights who worked on the seaports in Scylla. It is no coincidence that on his feast day, March 19, the traditional Riatta i San Giuseppi is held , a boat race that starts from the port and parades in front of the entire village. This is, of course, after the procession of the saint's statue through the streets of Chianalea and Marina Grande. Once this solemnity is also over, it's party time with band and fireworks as they know how to do in these parts.

A bit of history, architecture and surroundings

The church of San Giuseppe, commissioned by a Ruffo princess, is documented from the late 16th century, a period to which the remarkable portal in Syracuse stone, molded and decorated with plant motifs, that introduces it, refers. The cross-vaulted atrium that instead precedes it is what remains of the monastery added in 1619 but ruined like the church by recurrent earthquakes. Overall, an atmospheric complex, made all the more striking by its location at the end of the walk through the village of Chianalea, with the Rock of Scylla in ever-broadening glimpses. Just in front of San Giuseppe, an outcropping rock, the Oia stone, on which seagulls seem to pose. Just beyond, the beach of contrada Oliveto, crystal clear sea and wavy seabed...