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.
The parish was commissioned in July 1959 under the "Twenty-two churches for twenty-two councils" programme, with a first, unbuilt scheme by Giovanni Muzio. Gio Ponti took over the design in 1961 and the church was completed in 1964, built with the Scuola Beato Angelico and don Marco Melzi. It stands on the site of the Fopponino di Porta Vercellina, a cemetery opened in 1576 during the plague of San Carlo and closed in 1895.
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.
The church holds the "Presepe degli artisti", a nativity scene made by Francesco Tabusso with Gloria Argeles, Giacomo Soffiantino, Francesco Casorati, Nino Aimone, Giorgio Ramella, Riccardo Cordero and Bruno Grassi. It was shown in 1976 at the Galleria Gian Ferrari and given to the church in 1978.
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