Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph

The small village of Greppolungo, located in a panoramic position, has castle origins like most of the hilltop villages in the area. Of the medieval castle, mentioned in a document from 1219, some sections of the surrounding wall and a few other remains remain.
The church was initially built as an oratory, built by the local Company of San Giuseppe in 1669. It was later enlarged and expanded and became the parish church of the village. It has a single rectangular hall with a single entrance portal and ends with a semicircular apse. It is divided into five bays by pilasters that support an entablature on which the barrel vault with lunettes is set. The simple gabled façade, completely plastered, is preceded by a recent, very heavy, corner portico that also occupies part of the left side of the building. The rest of the lateral elevations are also partly occupied by buildings leaning against the church. The interior, of good architectural quality, has been recently renovated, especially with regard to the pictorial decorations, with interpretative additions that weigh it down considerably.
The bell tower was built between 1903 and 1905 in front of the church, on the opposite side of the churchyard.

Facade
The simple gabled façade, completely plastered, is preceded by a portico, formed by brick pillars and wooden beams, which continues on part of the left side. Sheltered by this and in the center of the façade we find the entrance portal, framed by mortar moldings and concluded at the top by a triangular pediment, also in mortar.

Plant
The building has a rectangular plan shape, with the major axis oriented from south to north and the entrance in the latter position. The interior has a single hall, divided into five bays with the major chapel, positioned at the back, defined by a system of columns.

Presbytery
The presbytery is housed in the main chapel and is raised by two steps from the floor of the hall.

Structural system
The structural parts of the building consist of continuous masonry, columns, arches, transverse arches, beams, vaults and wooden floors.

Coverings
The roof covering is made of terracotta tiles and bricks.

Floors and paving
The building is paved with cement tiles, painted black and white, arranged in a checkerboard pattern in the hall and white and grey marble, also arranged in a checkerboard pattern, in the presbytery.

Decorative elements
The interior of the building is marked and articulated by a plastic architectural apparatus that sees pilasters, in Doric style, dividing the hall into four bays and the latter covered by a barrel vault with nails. The main chapel is defined, instead, by two columns, also in composite style, which together with a transverse arch configure a serliana motif, repeated on the back wall, so that a central square space is obtained, with a vaulted ceiling. The molded projections and the shafts of columns and pilasters are painted in fake marble.

Choir
The choir, located on the counter-façade, has a wooden parapet divided into panels.