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Santa Maria Immacolata del Istituto Massimo is a late 20th century college chapel located at Via Massimiliano Massimo 7, which is in the west end of EUR.

The dedication is to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her aspect of the Immaculate Conception.

History[]

The chapel belongs to a school run by the Jesuits, transferred here in 1960 from its former home at what is now the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. The dedication of the original church at the latter, Santa Maria Immacolata al Collegio Massimiliano Massimo (now deconsecrated), has been preserved.

The modern complex is a notable landmark in this corner of EUR. The architects were Studio Passarelli, and the work was completed in 1992. Dominating the school is the assembly hall, the Auditorium del Massimo, which is easily mistaken for the chapel on the outside.

Appearance[]

The actual chapel is rather self-effacing. It is a flat-roofed hexagonal unit inserted into a rectangular block which functions as the Jesuit convent. The major axis of the chapel passes through two angles of the hexagon, which is unusual, and is also that of the convent block.

The fabric is in reinforced concrete.

The interior is dominated by massive V-shaped slab beams which support the roof, themselves supported by piers in the form of right-angled triangles. The angled back wall of the sanctuary is revetted in dark reddish marble slabs, the various courses having different sizes of slab. A strip of terracotta sculptural relief runs across the windowless wall here.

External links[]

School website

Architects' photos and plans

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