PADRE PIO PILGRILMAGE CHURCH

The church was designed to receive the increasing number of pilgrim visiting San Giovanni Rotondo. Though it is only 16 metres high, the church has a capacity of 6.500 people. The wide external precinct can hold some 30.000 on a surface of 9.000 square metres. The structure designs a spiral-shaped movement: the dome sweeps down from the centre towards the precinct in a gesture of welcoming invitation. The technical challenge of the project lies in the use of local stone as a structural material: the building contains about twenty stone arches arranged in radial fashion holding up the vast roof.