Church of Sant’Antonio da Padova

In 1918 the Cav. Campari di Carpi (Modena) purchased land to build a villa along the Via Flaminia and, to fulfill a vow made to Saint Anthony of Padua for having escaped death in the war, he had a chapel dedicated to the Saint built. In 1923 Campari financed the construction of a new church, inaugurated in 1930 and entrusted to the Redemptorist Fathers, parish of Montignano. In 1957 the bishop of Senigallia Ravetta elevated the church of Sant’Antonio, governed by the Redemptorist Fathers, to a parish. The 1972 earthquake damaged the church and it was demolished in 1973.

The new church, consecrated in 1979 by the bishop of Senigallia Odo Fusi Pecci, stands on a small hill, made entirely of reinforced concrete. Its distinctive feature is its perfectly circular plan, 26 meters in diameter, topped by a dome remotely reminiscent of the Pantheon. The church’s base consists of the parish rooms, located on a lower level. Access is from a square, a concrete canopy covers the portal delimited by concrete partitions. The interior is illuminated by stained glass windows placed behind the presbytery, and by ribbon windows that run along the circumference of the dome. The presbytery is raised by one step. On the concrete band between the stained glass windows and the dome stand figures by the sculptor Giò Fiorenzi representing the Passion of Christ. A bronze Crucified Christ is instead fixed to the wall between two stained glass windows.

The church is covered by the masonry dome, with bricks held together by concrete and mortar. About two meters from the dome’s impost, portholes open around the entire circumference. The outer surface is covered with anodized zinc plates.

In 2019, the fortieth anniversary of the dedication of the Church, the frescoes depicting Heavenly Jerusalem, Christ in priestly robes, Saints Joachim and Anne, Joseph’s Dream and Christ the Savior behind the Baptistery were created by the artists of the Aletti Center led by Father Marko Rupnik

Every year on June 13th, the feast of the Patron Saint Anthony of Padua is celebrated with a procession from the church to the sea. St. Anthony is venerated as co-patron saint. Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori.