Cattedrale di Cristo Re
From Piazza Europa, the cathedral reads as a single, unbroken gesture — a great concrete cylinder rising 17 metres with no windows, no ornament, no apology. Step inside and the logic reverses: a 50-metre dome opens above you, light arriving instead through a continuous band of stained glass that rings the perimeter, and twelve massive columns marking the twelve Apostles hold the whole thing aloft.
The floor of white and grey marble tilts almost imperceptibly toward the central altar, drawing you forward without announcing it. The presbytery lifts slightly in red marble. It is a building that works through proportion and material rather than decoration, and it rewards the few minutes it takes to let your eyes adjust.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to seek out the crypt, which most visitors walk past entirely. Down at plaza level, under the porticos, it holds a reliquary of San Venerio, the tombs of the first two bishops, and the grave of Itala Mela — a La Spezia mystic whose quiet story is worth looking up before you visit.
The story behind Cattedrale di Cristo Re
La Spezia only became a diocese in 1927, when Pope Pius XI established the see. Two years later a competition drew 92 projects from 117 architects; Bishop Giovanni Costantini's instigation produced a winner in Brenno Del Giudice and painter Guido Cadorin, but the project stalled for a quarter of a century.
In 1956 the commission passed to rationalist architect Adalberto Libera, who redesigned the project from the ground up. The first stone went down in 1960, but Libera died in 1963 before the work was finished. Architect Cesare Galeazzi carried it through to completion, and on 3 May 1975 Bishop Giuseppe Stella — who had laid that first stone — consecrated the cathedral in the presence of Cardinal Giuseppe Siri. The Carrara marble altar, ambo and tabernacle are the work of sculptor Lia Godano.
Good to know
The cathedral sits directly on Piazza Europa, a short walk from Passeggiata Morin. On foot from La Spezia Centrale station, allow about 20 minutes. Two flights of stairs lead up from the piazza; if that's a problem, the Via dei Colli entrance at the back is accessible by car. Entry is free as a working church.
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What travellers say about Cattedrale di Cristo Re
What a beautiful place of worship. It made me feel peaceful while inside the cathedral. The cross hanging down under the stained glass dome was very unique. Please try to visit, you won't be disappointed.
Possibly the ugliest church I have ever seen. But 5 stars for uniqueness. Somehow I like it
Modern, definitely different looking church.
Cool! Must see. Beautiful!
Quite dull and too modern for my liking.
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