Chiesa Regina Pacis

Chiesa Regina Pacis was built in Fiuggi Fonte between 1917 and 1922. Its neo-Romanesque design is by engineer Garibaldi Burba; between 1966 and 1988, Capuchin artist Padre Ugolino da Belluno transformed the interior with mosaics, sgraffiti and stained glass.

Why it matters

The church took shape in Fiuggi's modern spa district after the 1915 Marsica earthquake and Italy's entry into the First World War delayed the project. Work began on 10 June 1917 under the initiative of Padre Domenico Arsenio, provincial minister of the Capuchins of Lazio. The church was consecrated to Regina della Pace on 30 July 1922.

What to notice

Painter Alfredo Tosti created the facade's wall paintings and the image of Christ above the main door. Behind the main altar is Cesare Aureli's marble statue of the Vergine della Pace, surrounded by an apsidal mosaic with six angels. Padre Ugolino's nave mosaics interpret Saint Francis's Canticle of the Creatures in gold, red and black. His sgraffiti frame the side windows, while the stained-glass windows depict Saint Francis, San Biagio, Santa Marta and the Parables of Mercy.

Context and history

Burba's neo-Romanesque church belongs to the early twentieth-century development of Fiuggi Fonte, alongside his Palazzo della Fonte of 1912. Padre Ugolino da Belluno worked on the interior from 1966 to 1988, adding mosaics, sgraffiti and stained glass. The project brought together the work of local painter Alfredo Tosti, sculptor Cesare Aureli and the Capuchin artist.