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Italy | San Giovanni Rotondo | Foggia | St Pio Pilgrimage Chrch

The Church dedicated to St Pio of Pietrelcina in San Giovanni Rotondo, was designed to accommodate the ever-increasing number of the faithful on pilgrimage. The building designed by Architect Renzo Piano, houses up to 6500 faithful, while a large open space communicating with the liturgical hall will allow another 30 thousand people to attend religious ceremonies. In this way the internal space blends with the external one. From the churchyard you can admire the main arch of the church in all its grandeur. It is the largest stone arch in the world, with a width of 45.80 metres and a maximum internal height of 15.70 metres.

Architectural project

The church is accessed through an eight-metre wide, straight pedestrian walkway, flanked by a double row of cypresses, on either side of which terraces of green areas have sprung up, equipped for pilgrims to stop and rest. At the end of this path there is a large stone cross of Apricena, composed of 70 ashlars. The churchyard is triangular in shape with a slope towards the inside of the liturgical hall and rejoins the historical churchyard of the Sanctuary “Santa Maria delle Grazie”.  The large complex houses works by artists such as Domenico Palladino, who made the bronze door of the liturgical entrance; Giuliano Vangi who made the ambo and Arnaldo Pomodoro who made the golden bronze cross suspended on the altar, illuminated by a cone of daylight that filters through a special opening in the roof.

Lighting project

The lighting design underlines this connection between external and internal environments. Diffused lighting is provided by suspended fixtures that create a sort of vault-lowering effect. A strong beam of light on the alter draws all the attention to the officiant. At night the church is illuminated by projector lamps at ground level and by the interior light coming out of the glass windows. The large cross, the wall of the avenue leading to the church and the bells all help to make the location recognizable from afar. Among the projects of the places of worship of the Studio in via Presolana 5 are the Church of Santa Maria Rossa in Milan, the Abbey of Viboldone and many others.


Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni

Collaborations:
Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Photo Courtesy:
iGuzzini Lighting

Year:
2004


Other Projects

Orsay Museum where architecture became a big lighting device, the reflections of light bulbs with walls and ceilings create a uniform light without shadows. Groups of projectors in Grassi Palace recall a small football field. Here was born a new type of lighting device. Reflector lamps and articulated support gives life at the "Cestello". Spasa na Krovi is a perfection of Mantova project. Light beams aggregation allow the device size reduction and the dispersion light control.

Detail of the lighting system used
View of the ceiling glass windows with lighting
Outdoor spaces with architectural lighting
A night view of the illuminated building
View of the rooms and the exhibition path
Deputies with the lighting used
View of the complex with night lighting
The stage of the Teatro Comunale of Florence
The works of art inside the illuminated Papal Stables
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci with the lighting used
Full view of the illuminated theater
Full view of the Cultural Center building
One of the rooms with the works on display and the lighting fixtures
Overall view of the Banca Lombarda building in Brescia
Overall view of the central courtyard of the service center
Detail of the illuminated facade of the Dior building
Front view of the Lingotto building in Turin
Front view of the main entrance facade
View from the outside of the building and the facades
Front view of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
Overall view of the concert hall
The illuminated hall of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum
Exterior view of the museum building
View of the museum from the water
Front view of the Il Sole 24 Ore Seat building
The lighting fixtures installed on the ceiling
Viktor & Rolf Showroom inside the showroom
Overall view of a room with ceiling lights
Another central view of the illuminated hall of Palazzo Marino
The historic center of Siena illuminated
The lighting of the Salone delle Feste at the Quirinale
The illuminated waiting canopies
Entrance to the exhibition set up of Gianni Versace
Front view of the windows of the picture gallery
Il Porto Antico di Genova in una vista notturna
Detail of the lighting of the internal courtyard
Night view of the outline of the city of Mantua
Illuminated night view of the entrance courtyard
Night view of Malba - Costantini Foundation illuminated
Overall view of the Hall
Central view of the illuminated Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
Night view of the Italcementi Research Center
Night view of Porta Nuova Garibaldi Repubblica complex
St. Petersburg Spasa na Krovi outdoor lighting - master
Venice Grassi Palace outdoor night view- master
Museo d'Orsay Paris frontal view - master
Detail of the lighting system used
View of the ceiling glass windows with lighting
Outdoor spaces with architectural lighting
A night view of the illuminated building
View of the rooms and the exhibition path
Deputies with the lighting used
View of the complex with night lighting
The stage of the Teatro Comunale of Florence
The works of art inside the illuminated Papal Stables
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci with the lighting used
Full view of the illuminated theater
Full view of the Cultural Center building
One of the rooms with the works on display and the lighting fixtures
Overall view of the Banca Lombarda building in Brescia
Overall view of the central courtyard of the service center
Detail of the illuminated facade of the Dior building
Front view of the Lingotto building in Turin
Front view of the main entrance facade
View from the outside of the building and the facades
Front view of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte
Overall view of the concert hall
The illuminated hall of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum
Exterior view of the museum building
View of the museum from the water
Front view of the Il Sole 24 Ore Seat building
The lighting fixtures installed on the ceiling
Viktor & Rolf Showroom inside the showroom
Overall view of a room with ceiling lights
Another central view of the illuminated hall of Palazzo Marino
The historic center of Siena illuminated
The lighting of the Salone delle Feste at the Quirinale
The illuminated waiting canopies
Entrance to the exhibition set up of Gianni Versace
Front view of the windows of the picture gallery
Il Porto Antico di Genova in una vista notturna
Detail of the lighting of the internal courtyard
Night view of the outline of the city of Mantua
Illuminated night view of the entrance courtyard
Night view of Malba - Costantini Foundation illuminated
Overall view of the Hall
Central view of the illuminated Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
Night view of the Italcementi Research Center
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