Santuario Regina Pacis

The Regina Pacis Shrine at Soravia in Sappada was built in fulfilment of a 1944 wartime vow and combines modern architecture with a bronze triptych by Augusto Murer.

Why it matters

On Easter Sunday 1944, residents vowed to build a church dedicated to the Queen of Peace if Sappada were spared. The completed shrine commemorates that vow and the suffering caused by war. Its twentieth-century design offers a contemporary counterpart to the historic parish church of Santa Margherita.

What to notice

Architect Luciano Ria designed the church as a tent, with tilted spruce walls converging over a reinforced-concrete structure. Blue stained glass gives the interior its distinctive light. Augusto Murer's bronze triptych depicts the suffering of war, a mother mourning her child and symbols of peace. After being removed from the church and stored, the panels were installed outside in 2014. A Last Supper painted on wood is among the interior works.

Context and history

The community's vow dates to 9 April 1944. Funds were gathered in the post-war period, and construction took place from 1971 to 1973 under the parish of Santa Margherita. The project was affected by the building contractor's bankruptcy and Ria's early death. The completed shrine entered the regional ecclesiastical heritage inventory as a twentieth-century work at Soravia.