Cosmology, Faith, Architecture—A Temple under the Sky: The Church of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in Varese

Luca Placci

doi:10.3390/rel13020111

Abstract

In my article, I propose a reflection about the Catholic church of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in Varese, Italy, designed by the architect Justus Dahinden at the end of the millennium. Despite the fact that this original sacred space has been imagined by a well-known designer, it still remains a neglected case study. In detail, the present research is about the method by which the architect included the divine element into contemporary architecture and how he facilitated the encounter with the transcendent. The first step focused on the assessment of unpublished materials, such as the architect’s early plan drafts, the executive drawings and the correspondence between the client and the designer. The following study was on Dahinden’s scripts and publications. In the second stage, I analyzed the space under the lens of the hermeneutical approach to highlight the importance of the proven experiences in the building, which is distinguished for its holistic qualities. Furthermore, symbolism plays a relevant role in communicating the evangelical message here, and it seems that Dahinden brought it to the extreme consequence; the entire building, the sequence of its spaces and its details strongly evoke a universal dimension, which pretends to go beyond the dogmatism which marks the traditional religious architecture.

Highlights

A monumental cupola arises out of the blue when we walk along the avenue that connects the Varese city center to Sacro Monte (UNESCO site since 2003)
We are in front of the Catholic parish church dedicated to the Polish Franciscan monk Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894–1941), who perished in Auschwitz under Nazi occupation in 1941
In the respect of the original intent, access to the chapel opens from the hall and lies beyond the threshof 15 old, marked by two ancient bas-reliefs donated by the Milan cathedral (Figure 4). 8They echo the gothic spire placed on the concrete pedestal outside the building, a suggestion of the continuity between the ancient and the contemporary in the realm of Catholicism

Summary

Introduction

A monumental cupola arises out of the blue when we walk along the avenue that connects the Varese city center to Sacro Monte (UNESCO site since 2003). The amorphous growth of the suburbs of the medium-sized town of Varese, which is 30 miles north of Milan, is banned by the unequivocal presence of the building, which does not remain unnoticed It is as if the dome strongly declares that it distances itself from the low-value environment in which it is located. Among the designers engaged in the unanimous effort to create new spaces for worship, the architect Justus Dahinden gave a fundamental contribution to the international scene (Dahinden 1987, 2005)1 His long experience in designing more than 20 ecclesiastical buildings in Europe, Africa and Asia convinced the client (a commission composed of 26 members) to give him the assignment for the new temple, as reported in the letter sent to him by the local priest don Giovanni Brigatti. Dahinden’s involvement in the plan is reported below in order to illustrate his view on sacred architecture at the end of the last century (Brigatti 1997b)

The Commission and the Social Context

Axonometric

Entering the Transcendent

Perspective toward the altarpiece altarpiece seen from from the the Chapel

Conclusions