Sacrario di Cristo Re, Baroque church in Messina, Italy.
Sacrario di Cristo Re is an octagonal Baroque church in Messina with a prominent dome topped by a six-meter-high (20 feet) lantern that rises above the cityscape. The interior features eight bronze statues representing cardinal and theological virtues arranged around the space.
The shrine was built in 1937 to a design by Giovanni Battista Milani on the remains of Matagrifone Castle, of which one tower is incorporated into the base. That castle hosted Richard the Lionheart in 1190–1191, before he left for the Third Crusade; in 1284 it held Charles II of Anjou prisoner. The lower temple keeps 1,288 fallen of the Second World War and 110 of the First.
The bell in the octagonal tower, 2.80 metres across and weighing 130 quintals, was cast from bronze of enemy cannons taken in the 1915–18 war; it is Italy's third-largest bell and rings every evening at sunset for the fallen of all wars. The lower temple keeps thousands of loculi in its walls and a plaque for sailors lost at the naval battle of Punta Stilo on 9 July 1940.
The shrine sits on a hilltop and stands as a visible landmark from many parts of the city. Plan time to explore the interior and view the monuments at a comfortable pace.
A large bronze bell cast from melted enemy cannons hangs in the shrine and rings each evening at sunset. This sounding of the bell transforms weapons of war into an instrument of remembrance.
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