Sacra Famiglia Church, Postmodern church in Fratte district, Salerno, Italy.

Sacra Famiglia Church is a church in the Fratte district of Salerno, the first place of worship built entirely of reinforced concrete after the Second Vatican Council. Its plan is generated by six centres inside concentric circles, and three convex rings converge to form the dome. The green-blue and yellow-white windows play with daylight, and the altar stands on a marble pedestal at the centre.

The first Sacra Famiglia church in Fratte was built in the late 19th century with private funds for a growing industrial district. In the mid-1970s a highway interchange led to its expropriation. Father Nicola Roberto, parish priest from 1952 to 1976, turned to engineer Vittorio Gigliotti, who worked with Paolo Portoghesi at the Porta Pinciana studio in Rome. Design began in 1969, construction in 1971, partial opening in 1974; the floor came in 1984, the external stair, organ and ambo in 2007, the churchyard in 2011.

The church is dedicated to the Holy Family of Nazareth, and the two entrance ramps that embrace the building hint at this dedication. The three convex circles converging into the dome stand for the three divine persons, read as three great trees sheltering the liturgy. The green-blue glass evokes human nature, the yellow-white divine nature.

The church stands in the heart of Fratte, the neighbourhood that grew up as an industrial area at the end of the 19th century. The building was only partially finished in 1974: the floor came in 1984, the external staircase, organ and ambo in 2007, and the churchyard in 2011, and some works remain unfinished. Look for the two entrance ramps that wrap around the building.

The design was conceived as an attempt to express religious concepts through pure form rather than relying on traditional symbols. Standing inside, visitors notice an unexpected brightness from the way light filters through the concrete domes above.