Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate

The Church of Sant’Antonio Abate (Saint Anthony the Abbot) is a place of worship located in Piazza Liberta’ in San Potito Ultra, close to Amatucci Palace, which is home to the Labour Museum.

Also known as the Mother Church of this Irpinian town, the date of construction is not certain. Tradition has it that the Church was built by the Jerusalemite religious order, before 1860. The parish church has not undergone structural alterations over the years, although some work has been done to preserve the building. The Church was damaged in World War II; during the repair works a number of human remains were discovered, which would indicate that the dead were once buried underground here. After further damage in the 1962 and 1980 earthquakes, the Church was returned to its community on 7 December 2003, during a solemn ceremony led by the then Bishop of Avellino, Mons. Antonio Forte. 

Today, the Church has a typical Romanesque style characterised by a Latin cross floor plan and gabled façade. The portal is rectangular, surmounted by two single-lancet windows with rounded arches above which is an unadorned rose. The church stands alongside a solid, imposing bell tower with a quadrangular base, which stands in front of the War Memorial.

The artworks inside the Church include the altar of the Annunciation, named after the beautiful 18th-century painting that stands above it. An inscription on a stone plaque from 1701 indicates that the bodies of the Amatucci family were once buried here.

The Church of Sant’Antonio Abate (Saint Anthony the Abbot) is much cherished by the local community, and lives on today through its historic legacy and works of art.