The Chiesa del Santo Volto di Gesù (Church of the Holy Face of Jesus) is a church located on Via della Magliana, Rome, designed by architects Piero Sartogo and Nathalie Grenon and built between 1998 and 2006. It is characterised by two semi-domes, one inside and the other (virtual) one outside, divided by the large window behind the altar. Sartogo explains that: “The churchyard looks like a gigantic “V”, resembling two arms outstretched towards the city, and is meant to suggest the idea of the city-community creeping into the sacred space. The churchyard is the strong element, the link between the city and the sacred. The seats placed along the perimeter wall make the space similar to a piazza which, however, is no longer just an urban space but has the advantage of a perspective that projects itself towards the great cross.” This construction saw the revival of organic collaboration between architects and contemporary artists: the Stations of the Cross in glazed ceramic are by Mimmo Paladino; the large external cross is by sculptor Eliseo Mattiacci; the stained-glass window that divides the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament from the liturgical hall is by abstract artist Carla Accardi; the murals were painted by Marco Tirelli.
