SUN
In 1962, aware of rising immigration in Venezuela, the Italian Catholic Mission founded Nuestra Señora de Pom-pei School in La Campiña. Its growth led Scalabrinian priests to buy a plot in the Ávila development in Alta Florida. There the school was built as well as Nuestra Señora de Pompei Church, a square 20 x 20 m building designed by prolific Neapolitan architect Doménico Filiponne. The volume has a concrete parabolic vault, whose surface rises toward the four cardinal points, resting on four corner pillars, accompanied by a bell tower attached to the structure. The façades design is composed of vertical modules of openwork plaster placed between vertical elements, generating a particular lighting and atmosphere. Inside, the continuity of the concrete roof calculated by engineer Giorgio Bruttini contrasts with the white closures of openwork plaster. The accesses at the ends of the façade are framed by box-like doors. The bronze Christ and the reliefs inside are by Italian sculptor Aldo D’Adamo, who also sculpted the equestrian statue in the San Luis residential area. Despite being declared of Cultural Interest by the Institute of Cultural Heritage, the architectural value of the church was damaged by closing the openwork walls, altering the building’s design.