History

The name "Chiesa Rossa" derived from the old church of "Santa Maria" near the "Naviglio Pavese

Naviglio Pavese

The Naviglio Pavese is one of the canals making up the Navigli system in Lombardy, Italy. Once navigable, it is 33 km long and connected the city of Milan to Pavia, and through a flight of six locks to the River Ticino....

" canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

 called also "Santa Maria ad Fonticulum".

The construction started by Franco Della Porta in Romanesque Revival style, and was completed in 1932 by Giovanni Muzio

Giovanni Muzio

Giovanni Muzio was an Italian architect. Muzio was born and died in Milan and is most closely associated with the Novecento Italiano group....

. The facade was built in the 1960.

A consecration plaque near main entrance remembers the church was consecrated on December 21, 1932 by Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 Archbishop of Milan Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster

Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster

Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, O.S.B. was a Benedictine monk and Cardinal Archbishop of Milan during World War II...

.

General Description

Muzio has designed the church in plan as Latin cross, the central nave is covered by Barrel vault

Barrel vault

A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...

 and ends in the Apse

Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...

.
The Baptistery, in the left in a lateral chapel, has an octagonal shape and contains "San Giovannino" a sculpture by Giacomo Manzù

Giacomo Manzù

Giacomo Manzù, pseudonym of Giacomo Manzoni , was an Italian sculptor, communist, and Roman Catholic.-Biography:...

.

From 1997 the church hosts "Untitled", last installation of Dan Flavin

Dan Flavin

Dan Flavin was an American minimalist artist famous for creating sculptural objects and installations from commercially available fluorescent light fixtures.-Early life and career:...

, the design was completed two days before the death of the author, November 26, 1996.

The installation is made with green and blue neon lights for the main nave, red in the transept

Transept

For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...

and yellow for the apse.