St. Joseph Church in San Giuseppe al Lago

Along the road leading from Caldaro to Termeno there's a small church with a cemetery: it was built in the 17th century and surrounded by a low wall. The sacred building is dedicated to St. Joseph, declared by Pope Pius IX in 1870 to be both the patron and the protector of the Catholic Church. Also San Giuseppe al Lago (St. Josef am See), which represents the nearest located district to Lake Caldaro as well as the lowest point of Caldaro, owes its name to the church patron.

The chancel has a straight ending, a frequent distinguishing feature of sacred buildings dating back to this construction period. The ground plan of the St. Joseph Church was presumably designed by a master builder of the Delai family, a family of builders and painters which originally came from the area of Lake Como. Between the 16th and the 18th century it was resident in Bolzano and dominated the Baroque sacral building in South Tyrol.

Worth to mention in the inside of the St. Joseph Church - "Kirche St. Josef" in German, "Chiesa di San Giuseppe" in Italian - is the marble high altar with its stone and wood sculptures. Several historic residences characterise the landscape in the surroundings of the building, among them Manincor, Ringberg and Kaltenburg, all of them erected around the 17th century. And how to reach the St. Joseph Church? It is located along the South Tyrolean Wine Road, a parking space as well as a bus stop are nearby. Also the beautiful circular trail Around Lake Caldaro passes by.