ARCHITECT'S

The passageway begins at the natural slope of the mountain, and offers two paths – one that leads out to a belvedere that looks out across the valley, and another that leads down inside the walls towards the church entrance beneath. The roof of the chapel is in fact formed by the amphitheater-type steps, which turn back towards the mountain, transforming the architectonic gesture into a continuous passageway. The internal space, characterized by the contrast between the circular walls covered with blackened lime mortar and the linear white outlines of the ceiling, is divided into three naves. Two heavy columns are at the entrance of the lower central nave, which ends in the small apse that protrudes from the main volume. In this small space, the intense zenithal light draws attention to the sign of prayer displayed by the hands depicted on the wall by Enzo Cucchi, the Italian artist who also made the engravings arranged above the twenty-two floor level embrasures, set along the internal perimeter. (© Mario Botta Architetti)

COLLECTION

DFW