Cappella del Casale dell'Osteria Nuova is a deconsecrated 18th century public farmstead chapel at Osteria Nuova in the zona Cesano. It is located on the north side of the Via Braccianense, just west of the junction with Via di Santa Maria di Galeria.
The chapel is in the municipality of Rome, but belonged to the diocese of Porto Santa Rufina.
History[]
The farmstead of Casale dell'Osteria Nuova is probably on an ancient site, but extant evidence dates to the 16th century. In the 18th century, a little chapel was included in a range built along the roadside.
Osteria Nuova is now basically a rather scrappily laid-out suburb in the middle of the open countryside, which grew up around a wayside hostelry in the mid 20th century. The original church for the locality was Santa Maria in Celsano, but this is an inconvenient distance to the south. The tiny chapel was much too small, so the new church of Sant'Andrea alla Osteria Nuova was provided and the chapel abandoned.
Apperarance[]
The roadside range is in rubble stonework, originally rendered white but now in a poor state of repair. The chapel occupies the west end of the main two-storey structure. It has a doorway with a simple stone door-case and a matching square window to each side. Above is a small round window.
The identity of the chapel is proclaimed by the addition of a plaster fillet to the wall, in the shape of a pediment with a broken cornice. This is entirely false, as the real roof-line with projecting eaves is above.
The chapel seems to have been used as a work-shop, but its state is approaching dereliction. (2019).