The Church of Santa Maria Assunta is a Roman Catholic parish church located in Riola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Situated in the Reno valley at the foot of the northern Apennines, the church was designed between 1965 and 1978 by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, together with Elissa Aalto and the Aalto Studio. It is the only Catholic church ever built from Aalto’s designs and is widely regarded as one of the most significant examples of modern sacred architecture in Italy, noted for its sculptural sequence of descending concrete arches, its refined natural lighting, and its integration with the surrounding Apennine landscape.[1]
The church stands on a terrace above the Reno River in Riola, south-west of Bologna. In the early 1960s the Archdiocese of Bologna launched a programme of new parish buildings inspired by the principles of the Second Vatican Council. Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro, a leading proponent of liturgical reform, aimed to commission major international architects for several of these projects.[2]
After visiting an exhibition on Alvar Aalto at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence in 1965, Lercaro invited the Finnish architect to design the new parish church for Riola.[3] In the same period he also approached architects such as Kenzo Tange and Le Corbusier for other projects in the archdiocese, reflecting an ambitious strategy to align Catholic architecture with the international modern movement.[3]
Aalto visited Riola in January 1966 and produced the first design later that year. Archival research indicates that nearly 500 drawings and studies related to the project were produced between 1966 and the early 1980s by Aalto, Elissa Aalto and collaborators in the Aalto Studio.[4] Early schemes included not only the church but also a parish centre, a kindergarten and a retirement home; only the church was eventually built.
Lercaro’s forced resignation in 1968 and financial difficulties brought the project close to abandonment. The parish priest, Don Giuseppe Borri, organised fund-raising among local families and emigrants from Riola, while the contractor Mario Tamburini reportedly offered to cover the gap between the collected funds and the actual construction costs.[5]
Construction finally began in December 1975. On 11 September 1976 the lifting of the last of the six large reinforced-concrete arches was greeted with prolonged applause by the villagers, an episode often recalled in later accounts of the church.[5] After Aalto’s death in 1976, Elissa Aalto and the Italian architect Vezio Nava supervised the completion of the works. The church was consecrated in 1978, while the free-standing bell tower—already present in Aalto’s drawings—was built between 1993 and 1994.[3]
In 2019 a documentation centre dedicated to Aalto’s Italian works was established near Riola, promoted by Lorenzo “Grelo” Gresleri and Raimonda Zizzi Bongiovanni in collaboration with the Alvar Aalto Foundation and local authorities.[5]
Liturgical context
The design reflects the liturgical principles of the Second Vatican Council, which emphasised active participation of the congregation, the centrality of the altar and a clearer spatial relationship between clergy and laity. Aalto interpreted these guidelines by creating a single, luminous volume in which the assembly surrounds the altar with unobstructed sightlines, minimal physical barriers and a strong focus on the chancel.[6]
Design development
The Riola project was conceived as a small parish complex. Early studies show various arrangements of ancillary buildings around the church, including spaces for social and educational activities. Budget constraints meant that only the church itself was constructed, though the main spatial and structural ideas of the original design were largely preserved.[4] The six-arch structural system, the orientation toward the river and the organisation of the liturgical space remained consistent throughout the evolution of the project.
Architectural concept
The church occupies a natural terrace above the Reno River, framed by the Apennine peaks of Montovolo, Monte Vigese and Monte di Vigo. Aalto responded to this landscape by shaping the roof as a stepped profile of six descending reinforced-concrete arches, echoing the rhythm of the surrounding hills and leading the eye toward the sanctuary.[1]
Local guides and commentators have underlined how the stone facing of the lower walls recalls the traditional masonry of nearby villages such as La Scola, while the overall silhouette engages in a dialogue with the mountainous skyline.[7][8] A phrase frequently attributed to Aalto during his first visit—“I do not wish to disturb what God has already created in this place”—is often cited as a concise expression of his attitude toward the site.[7]
Interior
The interior of the nave is defined by six large prefabricated reinforced-concrete arches of asymmetric form, decreasing in height toward the chancel. Between them, a series of north-facing light scoops with conic sections admit diffuse daylight that washes the white plaster surfaces and emphasises the structural rhythm.[9]
The floor is paved in terracotta tiles, providing a warm contrast to the grey concrete and white walls. Wooden pews are arranged in rows that become gradually shorter toward the sanctuary, subtly reinforcing the sense of convergence. The altar, carved from a single block of white marble, is deliberately unadorned and stands beneath the tallest arch, marking the liturgical centre of the space. The original tabernacle designed by Aalto is no longer in its initial position, though some elements of its design remain recognisable.
At night the church is lit mainly by indirect artificial light directed toward the arches and the altar, creating a calm, contemplative atmosphere.
Architecture critics have pointed out parallels between the concrete ribs and Aalto’s designs for bent-plywood furniture and lighting produced by Artek, suggesting a continuity between his industrial design work and the spatial articulation of the Riola church.[10][8]
Detail of the reinforced-concrete arches inside the nave
Baptistery
The baptistery is located to one side of the nave and is slightly sunken below the main floor level. Hexagonal in plan, it is illuminated by a pyramidal skylight and by a vertical slit window that frames a view of the Reno River, underlining the symbolic connection between baptism and water.[9]
Exterior
Externally, the church combines painted plaster surfaces with areas of mortar-faced stone. The roof is clad in copper, which has developed a natural green patina over time. Narrow slit windows punctuate the façades, providing controlled daylight and directing views toward the surrounding landscape.
The free-standing bell tower, completed in the early 1990s, adopts a minimalist, rectilinear language consistent with Aalto’s original intentions.[3]
Engineering and construction
The six large concrete arches were prefabricated off-site and transported along narrow mountain roads, making their delivery and erection one of the most technically demanding aspects of the project.[11] The roof build-up includes multiple waterproofing layers beneath the copper cladding. Some of the concrete for the structure was reportedly donated by the construction firm, and the stone used for the lower parts of the walls was quarried locally, reinforcing the material link with the Apennine context.[8]
Several retaining structures intended to connect the forecourt to the river bank were only partially realised, leaving the southern edge of the terrace more open than originally planned.[8]
Site and context
The church forms part of a broader cultural landscape that includes the sanctuary of Montovolo, historic villages such as La Scola and the nearby Rocchetta Mattei. The forecourt of the church functions as a small civic square for Riola, mediating between the main road, the river and the entrance to the building.[7]
Conservation and recognition
Santa Maria Assunta remains an active parish church. Conservation efforts focus on the maintenance of the concrete surfaces, the copper roof and the glazing, which are exposed to the Apennine climate.[9] The church is listed in the Italian Ministry of Culture’s census of contemporary architecture as a significant post-war religious building in Emilia-Romagna.[12]
Reception and legacy
The church is recognised as a key example of Aalto’s late ecclesiastical architecture and is frequently included in architectural itineraries across Emilia-Romagna.[1] Commentators often highlight its careful modulation of light, its sculptural structure and its sensitive relationship to the landscape.
Out of the numerous commissions proposed to Aalto in Italy, only two were ultimately realised: the Finnish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and the church of Riola. For this reason the Church of Santa Maria Assunta is frequently described as Aalto’s “spiritual testament in Italy”.[5]
Gallery
Interior of the nave (night view)
Concrete arches defining the spatial rhythm of the nave
123Alvar Aalto Foundation, Church of Riola, official project archive.
↑Touring Club Italiano, Emilia-Romagna, Milano, 2015, pp. 312–313.
1234Sergio Polano, Alvar Aalto in Italia, Electa, Milano, 1989.
12The Architectural Drawings of Alvar Aalto, 1959–1976, vol. 5, Garland Publishing, New York, 1994.
1234Santa Nastro, “La storia incredibile della chiesa progettata da Alvar Aalto in Italia diventa un museo”, Artribune, 24 April 2020.
↑Comune di Vergato, Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta – Riola.
123Discover Alto Reno Terme, La chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, tourism portal for the Alto Reno area.
1234Rocchetta Mattei, Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Riola, official tourism website.
123Ministero della Cultura, Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta (Riola), national catalogue of cultural heritage.
↑ArchEyes, “The Riola Parish Church by Alvar Aalto: Light and Sanctity”, 31 July 2023.
↑Glauco Gresleri, “La chiesa di Riola di Alvar Aalto”, Parametro, no. 74, 1978, pp. 25–38.
↑Ministero della Cultura, Chiesa parrocchiale di Santa Maria Assunta, Census of Contemporary Architecture in Italy.
External links
Alvar Aalto Foundation – Church of Riola
Rocchetta Mattei – Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Riola
Discover Alto Reno Terme – La chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
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