The Church of San Rocco is located on the corner between Via Roma and Via Vittorio Veneto.
History
The church, seat of the brotherhood of San Rocco (founded in 1604), was built in the middle of the 17th century by the people of Bastia, grateful to have been saved from the plague epidemic that had afflicted the neighbouring villages. The building was erected outside the city walls near Porta Romana, from where the ‘straight and new’ road leading from the Porziuncola to Bastia branched off.The road was laid out during the pontificate of Clement VIII (1592 – 1600), probably in view of the Jubilee and, in any case, after the construction of the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (1569).
In 1832 a violent earthquake caused part of the ceiling to fall, the stuccoes to come off the altars and the bell tower to collapse. After lengthy and necessary restoration work, the church was reopened to the public in 1856.
In 1924, Porta Romana was demolished and the memorial plaque with the inscription to celebrate its construction was moved to the front of the church, where it is now located.
In 1925, the building underwent further restoration work, during which a new decorative scheme was created by the painter Elpidio Petrignani (1878-1964).
After the construction of the new parish church of St Michael the Archangel {1962), the church fell into disuse and, with it, its lack of maintenance. For this reason, between the 1970s and 1980s, after the collapse of part of the roof and some parts of the structural system, it was repeatedly considered to be pulled down as part of the renewal of the neighbourhood. At that time, some citizens worked to protect and preserve the church, setting up a committee which, also at the behest of the then parish priest Don Francesco Fongo, worked on extensive structural and pictorial restoration, which led to its reopening to the public on 15 September 1991.
The church is the religious seat of the Rione San Rocco (green), which has its façade as its coat of arms.
Description
Exterior
The church has a gabled façade, marked in the lower order by four pilasters and opened by a single entrance portal, surmounted by a window, while another one is located at the bottom right.
On the façade we note:
within the lunette, Madonna and Child Jesus, between Rocco and St Emidio (1926), in majolica by the Deruta workshop:the work replaces the original by Elpidio Petrignani, currently located on the counter-façade, above the portal, inside the compass
Above, on the right Tombstone with commemorative inscription(1633), in travertine, from the demolished Porta Romana: the inscription, which recalls its construction, reads: “IMMINENTE CONTAGIO ADORNA / TUM PRAESIDIUMQUE ROMANAE / INSULAE PORTAM HANC DIVI / PETRI NAVICULA(m) REGENTE / URBANO VIII P.O.M. / ANGELUS PERLA I V.D. P(rae)TOR / PRIORE(sque) BASTIAE CONSTRU / ENDAM CURAVERE A. D. 1633”
On the back of the roof, there is a bell gable with twobells.
Interior
The interior of the church has a rectangular plan with a single nave. Inside we notice on the presbytery
, in a niche, Statue of St. Roch(1527-1528), in carved and painted wood, by Ranieri
on the left-hand wall:
Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1560), oil on canvas by Mariano di Antonio, from the demolished Church of Sant’Antonio Abate: the work was the back side of the processional banner of the brotherhood of Sant’Antonio Abate, which on the front side presented the Madonna of Mercy, now placed on the counter-façade on the left.
Within the altar piece, St. Andrew and St. Stephen (17th century), oil on canvas of Umbrian origin.
On the right wall:
Jesus Christ descending into the Limbo (mid 16th century), oil on canvas applied to panel by Dono Doni: the work was the back side of the processional banner of the brotherhood of St. Roch, which on the front side presented the Madonna and Child Jesus between St. Roch and St. Sebastian, today on the same wall.
entro mostra d’altare, Within the altar display, Madonna and Child Jesus enthroned between St Mary Magdalene and a saint(first half of the 17th century), oil on canvas by Cesare Sermei.
Madonna and Child Jesus in Glory(mid 16th century), oil on canvas applied to panel by Dono Doni: the work was the front of the processional banner of the brotherhood of San Rocco, which on the front presented Jesus Christ descending to Limbo, now placed on the same wall. Jesus Christ descending to Limbo, now placed on the same wall.
On the counter façade,
left Our Lady of Mercy between St Antony Abbot and St Antony of Padua(1560), oil on canvas by Mariano di Antonio, from the demolished Church of St Antony Abbot: the work was the front of the processional banner of the brotherhood of St Antony Abbot, which on the back presented the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, now located on the left wall.
Above the portal, inside the compass, Madonna and Child Jesus between St Roch and St Emidius(1926), a detached fresco by Elpidio Petrignani: the work shows on either side of the Virgin Mary the second (St Roch holding a pilgrim’s staff) and third patron (St Emidius, bishop and martyr, holding a borough to indicate his protective action on it) of Bastia Umbra. ..
