Basilica of the Sacro Cuore di Cristo Re

A solemn and austere rectangular frontage in the blank brickwork, approached by a flight of steps and slotted in between two twin bell towers, which are set slightly back. Designed by Marcello Piacentini, and often regarded as one of his most representative works, the church on Viale Mazzini, in the Della Vittoria district, is one of the earliest examples of Italian Rationalism applied to places of worship.

Its construction in a Rome’s suburb that was rapidly expanding at the time – and already had its geographical center in the gardens of Piazza Mazzini – was commissioned by French priest Léon Gustave Dehon, founder of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, supported by the enterprising and tenacious Father Ottavio Gasparri, the Order’s Procurator General. Following the carnage of the First World War, and in memory of the many fallen, the church was intended to be a symbol, and a hope, of universal peace: its full title is significantly “International Votive Temple for Peace dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus”.

Works were entrusted to Italian architect Piacentini, who initially designed a “classical” building, inspired by the many 16th-century Roman churches. However, the death of Father Gasparri in 1929 led to a halt in construction, which had begun in May 1920. Two years later, when work finally resumed, the building output of the Fascist regime had by then undergone a drastic shift towards modernism, and Piacentini had a complete re-think as regards the design, which underwent a radical transformation, embracing contemporary ideas without forgetting the architectural traditions of the past.

Whilst retaining a classical approach, Piacentini sought to simplify and strip back the overall design, resulting in a structure with clear, linear forms. Externally, the brickwork is left visible, whilst the three entrance portals (the main one surmounted by a high relief by Arturo Martini depicting the Sacred Heart of Christ the King) are arranged like the arches of a triumphal arch from Imperial Rome. Inside too, the building materials are left visible: the grey of the walls is brightened by the red hue of the porphyry floor, with few other touches of color provided by the green of the altars and the gilded balustrades of the choirs. Achille Funi’s frescoes in the apse are the most significant departure from the overall austerity: a Christ Enthroned almost 12 meters tall, which was the subject of fierce criticism at the time.