Ascensione del Signore

Ascensione del Signore rises in Italy as a compact parish church, with raw concrete surfaces and clear, economical geometry. Gray blocks marked by vertical grooves form the walls, while prefabricated beams, pillars and a roof slab remain visible. Inside, a square nave runs perpendicular to the entrance, filling the room with a direct, practical sense of space.

The presbytery stands two steps above the nave and holds simple wooden liturgical furnishings. Toward the east, a two-level structural bay accommodates offices and service rooms without concealing them behind ornament. Giovanni Canavesio designed the church after a 1967 competition, following a community decision in the late 1960s. The parish chose one gathering hall instead of a large centre across roughly 12,000 square metres. Its construction belongs to the parish-building renewal associated with Cardinal Michele Pellegrino between 1965 and 1977.

The exposed structure keeps the building’s communal purpose visible from the first glance. Look toward the eastern bay, where practical rooms share the same architecture as the worship space.