Oratorio dei Falegnami

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History

This precious chapel, incorporated into the Convent of the Theatines, the first seat of the University of Palermo, on Via Giuseppe D’Alessi, on the corner with Via Maqueda, was originally oriented parallel to Via Maqueda. It was then destroyed when the house of the Theatines, in the early nineteenth century, became the seat of the University of Palermo and the current entrance portico of the University was built on this street. The Oratory of the Carpenters, closed to the public and to worship for many years, was reopened, with the function of University Chapel in 2009.

In 1805 this Oratory was assigned to the Company of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami (Carpenters), who gave it the name it still bears today. In the vestibule, the fercolo of San Giuseppe and a valuable papier-mâché statue of the Immaculate Conception, dating back to the 18th century, are preserved. The two wooden doors, which give access to the oratory, depict episodes of the Holy Family. The numerous stucco decorations made in 1701 by Giuseppe and Procopio Serpotta, brother and nephew of the more famous Giacomo, include frames, cherubs, medallions and festoons in which the late 18th-century frescoes are inserted. The altar, made in 1806, depicts scenes of the Holy Family, designed by Venanzio Marvuglia, while, above the tympanum, two cherubs hold two of the symbolic tools of the brotherhood: the set square and the compass.

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