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Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church

San Giovanni Rotondo / Italy

The church dedicated to Padre Pio is a sacred building with ample open space for the public, yet its design is deliberately non-monumental and welcoming. The project was based on two fundamental principles: the use of a single type of stone that would be in harmony with its surroundings, and the idea of a church that was open to all. A piazza leads naturally into the main body of the church, the forward-sweeping wing-shaped roof and the ample glass frontal panes – with the story of Revelations on great coloured tapestries – are clear messages of inclusion.

The inside of a church with a stained glass window
© Michel Denancé
 

The yearly increase in pilgrims visiting the town of San Giovanni Rotondo called for the construction of a new church, one with a wide path leading to it and large open spaces to receive and organise the masses of pilgrims who periodically flock to this raised plain in the Gargano region of Italy, home to Padre Pio. The church was built adjacent to the monastery and, despite its vast size, its innovative architecture carves out a protected place of prayer, a shared space that blends in with its surroundings and looks out towards the distant sea.

A group of people are walking down stairs in front of a large building
© Michel Denancé
The triangular and gently sloping parvis invites pilgrims to make their way down to the church from the old Capuchin monastery.
A model of a ferris wheel made of wood
© RPBW, ph. PUBLIFOTO Genova
An aerial view of a large building with a green roof
© Christian Richters
An aerial view of a large building in the middle of a city surrounded by trees
© Michel Denancé
A large building with a large cross in the background
© Michel Denancé
 

The arched structure of the church was made out of blocks of beige Apricena stone. The decision to use this stone as the sole building material for the new church was fundamental and rendered it a homogenous whole. The fact that the church was being built in a seismically active region was further impetus to explore new and innovative structural solutions. Rigidity usually means fragility, but thanks to the techniques used to assemble and pre-compress the massive blocks, this monumental arched project is able to dissipate energy and absorb the stresses generated by earthquakes.

 
A black and white drawing of a bridge with a lot of details on it
© RPBW
A black and white drawing of a bridge with people walking underneath it
© RPBW
An aerial view of a large building under construction
© RPBW, ph. Vittorio Grassi
A large group of people are sitting in a church
© Gianni Berengo Gardin

The 22 supporting arches are lined up in two rows (interior and exterior) in a radial pattern that flows outwards from the altar, with decreasing sizes and an accelerated rhythm as they move further away. The arches support the secondary wooden structure for the overlapping roof panels, secured onto sets of steel struts. Even this distant spacing of elements, so that the roof appears to float in empty space, is an integral feature of the structural autonomy of the parts, allowing them to move independently during an earthquake and thus increasing their resistance.

The rounded surfaces of the roof follow the spiral thrust of the structure and lean on one another lightly, letting sunlight filter through to the inside. Just like in 17th-century churches and paintings, a single ray of light shines on the altar, the centre of the liturgical celebrations.

 
A group of people are walking in front of a large cross
© Michel Denancé
The inside of a church with rows of benches and a stained glass window
© Michel Denancé
A group of nuns are walking down a hallway
© Michel Denancé
A large group of people are sitting in a church
© Gianni Berengo Gardin

Project Details

Status

1991 - 2004

Design

Provincia dei Frati Minori Cappuccini di Foggia

Design Team

Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architects

Stage One, 1991–1996

Design team: G.Grandi (partner in charge), K.Fraser, V.Di Turi, M.Palmore, C.Manfreddo, M.Rossato, S.Ishida (partner), L.Lin, D.Magnano, P. Bodega, E.Fitzgerald with M.Byrne, B.Ditchbum, H.Hirsch, A.Saheba, G.Stirk; I.Corte, S.D’Atri (Cad Operators); D. Cavagna, S. Rossi (models)

Consultants: Ove Arup & Partners + Co.Re. Ingegneria (structure); Ove Arup & Partners / Manens Intertecnica (services); Müller BBM (acoustics); STED, Austin Italia (cost consultants); Tecnocons (fire prevention); E.Trabella (planting); Studio Ambiente (urban planning); G. Grasso o.p. (lithurgical advisor)

Stage Two, 1997–2004

Design team: G.Grandi (partner in charge), V.Grassi (associate) with V.Di Turi, D.Magnano, M.Rossato Piano, S.Scarabicchi and M.Belviso, E.Mijic, C.Pafumi, M.Piazza, G.Robotti, W.Vassal, D.Vespier; I.Corte, S.D’Atri (Cad Operators); D.Cavagna, F.Cappellini, S.Rossi (models)

Consultants : Favero & Milan (structure); Manens Intertecnica (services); Müller BBM (acoustics); HR Wallingford (roof drainage system); Tecnocons + C.Manfreddo (fire prevention); P.Castiglioni (lighting); F.Origoni (graphics); D.Lagazzi (stone consultant); N.Albertani (timber consultant); Mons. C.Valenziano (lithurgical advisor); M.Codognato (art consultant); G. Muciaccia (site supervision)