Largo Staurenghi is named after a noble family from Itri originally from the Verona area, who relocated here due to crimes committed in their native town. In the past, it was customary for every noble family to have its own patron saint. The Staurenghi family venerated Saint Joseph and had a statue of the saint with the child made, which was carried in procession throughout the town. The first documented reference to the tradition of Saint Joseph is linked to Giuseppe Staurenghi, son of Vincenzo and Emanuela Fusco.
Giuseppe pursued a military career, becoming commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Naples in the early 1800s. He brought even greater prestige and wealth to the family, already influential and well-off. The Staurenghi family house still exists, albeit partially renovated, and is located on Via San Martino – Vico Staurenghi.
This family kept the statue of Saint Joseph with the child inside their home, and it was carried in procession on the saint’s feast day, 19 March. On this occasion, carpenters, for whom Saint Joseph is the patron, competed for the honour of carrying the statue through the streets of Itri in a bidding process, with the highest bidder winning.
As for the old statue of Saint Joseph, before the aerial bombings of 1943, it was transferred to the convent of San Martino (now rebuilt and used as a home for the elderly). During the bombings, the convent was destroyed, and the statue shattered; only the child Jesus remained intact. This surviving piece is still preserved in a convent in Canosa di Puglia, taken there by the nuns of Itri.
