Chapel in Montecchio Emilia
The “Guarigioni” (healing) Chapel
The “Guarigioni” (healing) chapel
“E. Franchini” hospital in Montecchio Emilia
After the general restructuring and extension of the “E. Franchini Hospital in Montecchio Emilia, a new chapel was created at the centre of the cross plan that characterises the entire complex.
This central position, as well as posing a symbolic element at the centre of the cross, like in hospitals long ago when the church was always at the centre of the crossroads of the various wings, also allows the space to be directly accessible for all users, both internal and external.
It was the considerations of the client and the designers, along with the hospital chaplain and Monsignor Tiziano Ghirelli, director of the Diocese office for cultural heritage and places of worship, which gave rise to the idea of a comfortable, intimate place for prayer.
The design idea therefore was to create a quiet space, a sort of “precious chest” as put by His Excellency bishop Monsignor Massimo Camisasca when he performed the consecration, which can welcome people for a moment of reflection and spiritual care in the midst of worries and suffering that can affect a person in a hospital.
Its concept is based on the desire to propose contemporary project ideas that can interact and integrate with the intimate sphere of personal religious faith which is in turn kept alive in the individual and therefore also contemporary.
An attempt was made to find a solution that could clearly convey the message of Christian faith thanks to the architectural and artistic characteristics of a rigorous, essential design based on the authenticity of the forms and materials. The informal artwork of Alfonso Borghi is here enriched by figurative references to chosen biblical episodes to complete the space with powerful colours and vibrant matter that comes out of the canvases.
The theme behind the chapel is that of “healing”, both of the body and the spirit and is expressed in the artwork. This dedication can be easily found when we look at the inscription on the holy water font: “from his wounds you have been healed” (First letter of Peter 2,24). The reference is from a passage of the New Testament in which the author indicates the crucified Jesus Christ as a source of hope for those who are suffering. This inscription leads the visitor to then view the great painting of the crucifixion hanging behind the altar that it refers to. All of the images in this space have been studied to tell the story of redemption thanks to moments of healing, starting from the four small paintings that go from the Israelites escaping Egypt to the Resurrection after going through the Epiphany and the Crucifixion.
On the main wall there is a crucifix with a great fresco of the Holy Land, which shows the lands and the miracles of Jesus. To a side, for a more personal stop, there is an image of the “Madonna bianca con bambino” (White Madonna with child). At the entrance to the hospital, the presence of the chapel is indicated by a bronze sculpture “Zaccheo e il siccomoro” (Zacchaeus and the sycamore), also by Alfonso Borghi, created by Massimo Merighi in the Menghi Arte artistic foundry in Bologna.
Client:
Servizio Sanitario Regionale Emilia Romagna. Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale di Reggio Emilia
Year of execution:
2015
Performed service level:
Preliminary, definitive and executive design, work supervision and interior design
Work progress:
Concluded
Total surface:
22 m²
Project/service signatory technicians:
Binini Partners Srl
Eng. Tiziano Binini, Eng. Alberto Baroni, Eng. Ed. Arch. Francesco De Benedittis
The “Guarigioni” (healing) chapel
“E. Franchini” hospital in Montecchio Emilia