Church of St. Policarp, Catholic parish church in Appio Claudio district, Rome, Italy.
The church of St. Policarp is a Catholic parish church in the Appio Claudio neighborhood of Rome, built on a hexagonal floor plan. The outer walls are made of peperino stone, while the interior structure relies on a reinforced concrete frame that keeps the space open and uncluttered.
Architect Giuseppe Nicolosi designed the building, which was begun in 1964 and inaugurated in 1967. It was built during a period when Rome was adding new parish churches to its expanding outer neighborhoods.
The stained glass windows show scenes from the Gospels and fill the interior with colored light. The open floor plan allows visitors to see all the windows at once from almost any point inside the building.
The hexagonal shape makes the building easy to spot from the street in the Appio Claudio neighborhood. Once inside, the open layout means there is no complicated floor plan to follow, so visitors can move around freely.
The roof is divided into six diamond-shaped sections, each with raised ribs that meet at a narrow central peak. This means the same structural element that gives the outside its outline also shapes the feeling of the interior space when you look up.
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