San Francesco d’Assisi al Fopponino church, Modern church building in Porta Vercellina district, Milan, Italy
San Francesco d'Assisi al Fopponino is a modern church building in the Fopponino area of Milan, designed by architect Gio Ponti. The facade is pierced by diamond-shaped openings that channel daylight into the interior, which follows an asymmetric hexagonal plan.
Gio Ponti designed the church in 1964 on the site of a former cemetery that had served the neighborhood for centuries. Choosing that ground linked the new building to the history of the area from the very beginning.
The church is named after Francis of Assisi, the saint associated with simplicity and nature, which gives the space a particular feeling. Inside, works by contemporary artists hang alongside sacred objects, making art and prayer coexist in an unusual way.
The church sits in the Fopponino area in western Milan and is easy to reach on foot from the surrounding streets. A morning visit is worth considering, as the light through the facade openings is most noticeable at that time of day.
Gio Ponti did not stop at the building itself but also designed details such as chandeliers and door handles, made specifically for this project by the manufacturer Olivari. These elements show how consistently he carried his design thinking into every corner of the interior.
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