Convent of Saint Joseph or of the Capuchin Friars (Convento di San Giuseppe o dei Padri Cappuccini)

The convent complex of San Giuseppe dei Padri Cappuccini is located on a slight panoramic elevation (now the Colle dei Cappuccini) that rises along the left bank of the Serchio River, a short distance from the hamlet of Santa Lucia and the more densely inhabited settlement of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana. It is the only Capuchin monastery in Garfagnana, whose history is closely intertwined with the religious and pastoral choices made by Alfonso III d’Este (1591-1644), the duke of Modena and Reggio who succeeded Cesare d’Este, who, a little less than a year after his enthronement (1628), decided to abdicate in favour of his son Francesco, to don the Capuchin habit, taking the name Father Giambattista da Modena.

The monumental complex that still exists today consists of the church of San Giuseppe (which still houses Father Giambattista’s tomb) and the adjoining convent building with a four-sided plan. By contrast, the three famous paintings also commissioned by Giambattista d’Este for the church have gone missing, namely Guido Reni’s The Marriage of the Virgin Mary, Guercino’s Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata and Annibale Carracci’s Rest during the Flight into Egypt. The façade of the church is elevated above the driveway and is accessed by two double-ramp staircases. In the apse area is a small bell tower with a stone base and vertical development of the brick belfry, at the rear of which is the convent.