Chiesa di San Francesco di Sales alla Borgata Alessandrina

The dedication of the parish church, dedicated to St Francis de Sales, took place, in a solemn celebration presided over by the then Cardinal Vicar Ruini, on 23 January 2005, just a few days after the sudden death of the historic parish priest Father Giuseppe Chiminiello, who had waited 44 years for this moment.The community's merit in the completion of this project was considerable. Indeed, the Church of St Francis de Sales in Rome presents itself not only as a monument but as an expression of the entire community that surrounds it and reinforces its identity. Light is an important element, present both in the form of natural light, which penetrates through the many windows distributed along the entire perimeter, and as artificial light, specially designed to emphasise the spaces of the assembled assembly and to be visible from the outside so as to declare that the church is alive. Everything is distributed on an octagonal plan that allows, with its regularity, an original spatial distribution in the search for centrality in which the assembly is the protagonist together with the altar. It is a plan that merges the central part with the longitudinal part using an octagon subjected to a traction that leads it to be irregular and to present a sort of central nave marked by the same roof, in the search for a form that declares its being a church right from its structure.
Innovative and valuable architectureTwo different elements were used for the structure: reinforced concrete for all elevation parts, glulam and copper for the roof. The colour white is distributed on the external plaster and on the smooth concrete of the interior, white are also the glass panes for doors and windows in the lower part, transparent blue in the upper windows, dark blue for the window frames. The other colours used are contrasted by the warm tones of the laminated wood and the copper of the roof, materials widely used in tradition and here reinterpreted in a church that presents itself as a bridge between tradition and innovation.
The use of copper for the roofThis research is well represented by the design choice to use copper roof tiles, the Prestige Compact model by Tegola Canadese, which is innovative from a technological point of view, even though it uses a material that man has been using for centuries in buildings destined to last. This tile, when laid, moulds itself by adapting well to any slope, and the end result is a spatial scanning in the roofing created by a remarkable texture. The strongly characterising element that is immediately perceived is the roof itself, which stretches over the building enveloping it in a fluid, soft way, extending to protect the assembly gathered there.
The front view of the church is characterised by a jutting cornice that stands out above the entrance portal, advancing to mark a portal that, with a skilful play of tapering and repetition, is almost an invitation to enter. It represents a very strong architectural sign that is well suited to a church that wants to rise up to protect its faithful, accompanying them on their journey of faith.