After years of construction, Italy’s first Latter-day Saint temple will be
open for a free public open house from Monday, January 28, 2019, to Saturday,
February 16, 2019, excluding Sundays.
The Rome Italy Temple is in northeast Rome near the village of La Cinquina
Bufalotta. The temple’s architecture was inspired by ancient Rome. Its exterior
is constructed from Bianco Sardo granite.
Design
“This had to be one that when you walked onto this site, every person should
feel like they were on an Italian site,” said architect Niels Valentiner. “They
would recognize it because of the materials, because of the design, and because
of the surrounding.”
Valentiner said the temple’s design was inspired by San Carlino, a Roman
Catholic church in Rome. “The curved ceilings, the curved walls, the expression
of the colonnades and columns. And that started this very early concept of a
curved church, a curved temple and temple building both on the exterior as well
as on the interior.”
The Rome Italy Temple is part of a 15-acre religious and cultural center
that includes a multifunctional meetinghouse, a visitors’ center, a family
history center and housing for visitors.
Interior
At the temple’s entrance, a floor-to-ceiling stained-glass wall depicts a
scene from the life of the Savior Jesus Christ. Stained-glass windows are
inspired by the olive tree.
Warm earth tones and blue, bronze and gold hues can be seen throughout the
interior. Top artisans and craftsmen have installed the high-quality materials,
which includes Perlato Svevo stone flooring quarried in northern Tuscany; Cenia
marble from Spain; deep reddish brown Sapele, burl and cherry wood millwork;
and Murano glass fixtures from Venice.
“We use the finest materials because it is the house of the Lord,” said
Elder Bednar. “The temple is an expression of our love and devotion to the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing is too good for the Lord.”
“We hold our craftsmen to the highest possible standards,” explained Bret
Woods, project supervisor.
Woods said the temple’s grand lobby staircase is an engineering feat. “It’s
connected just at the top and the bottom, so it’s essentially a free-floating
staircase — and of course, an elliptical shape.” The oval design of the
staircase is reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio masterpiece
near Capitoline Hill in Rome.
Original paintings hang in all areas of the temple, reminding temple guests
of Jesus Christ and His teachings to follow Him. A picture in the baptistry
depicts the Savior’s baptism by John the Baptist.
The baptistry’s purpose is in keeping with the Savior’s example to enter the
waters of baptism and His commandment that all must be baptized. In the temple,
patrons can act on behalf of those who did not have the chance to be baptized
in this life.
The oval motif continues in the baptistry, where inlaid stone wraps around
an elliptical font adorned with Roman-style acanthus leaves. The font is held
up by 12 oxen representing the 12 tribes of Israel.
In the instruction room where Church members learn about God’s love, the
creation and the purpose of life, a mural reveals a magnificent setting
depicting Italy’s landscape ranging from the hills to the sea.
The Baroque-era feel of the bridal room is enhanced by the crystalline
sconces and hand-painted chairs.
A seemingly endless reflection from the mirrors in the sealing rooms
symbolizes eternity. In those rooms, Latter-day Saint faithful participate in sacred
ceremonies that join families together forever.
An exquisite chandelier containing thousands of crystal prisms serves as the
centerpiece of the celestial room, a space that represents the progression of
reaching heaven. The room is also filled with elegant furnishings made by
Italian artisans.
Visitors’ Center
In the visitors’ center, a life-size statue of the Christus accompanied by
the original Twelve Apostles faces the temple through full-length windows. The
statues are replicas of sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen’s works displayed in the
Church of Our Lady in Denmark, except the Judas Iscariot figure has been
replaced by a statue of the Apostle Paul. Special permission was received from
the Lutheran Church to digitally scan the original figures. Carrara marble for
the three-quarter scale statues was taken from the same quarry in Tuscany as
the marble for Michelangelo’s David.
“When I saw the statues of the Savior, the Christus, and the Twelve
Apostles, it was just a spiritually stunning moment for me,” said Elder Bednar.
The statues are complimented by an original mural of olive trees in an
Italian countryside that serves as a backdrop.
Piazza
The visitors’ center, temple patron housing and a meetinghouse connect to
the temple through an Italian-style piazza or square constructed from native
travertine.
“These artisan stone layers have been working for seven generations,” said
Alberto Malara, senior assistant of Temple Facilities Management, who said the
master stone layers spend 400 hours in the classroom.
The Church also salvaged 110-year-old Basalt cobblestones from the streets
of Rome for the temple roundabout.
“If you look closely at some of these stones, you can see the grooves worn
in by the passage of old wagon wheels,” described Malara.
Background
Construction began on the three-story, 40,000-square-foot temple on October
23, 2010, two years after the Rome Italy Temple was announced by Church
President Thomas S. Monson. He and local Church and community leaders
participated in the
groundbreaking
ceremony.
“It’s difficult to explain my feeling,” expressed Christian Bruno, a former
Latter-day Saint missionary. “The Spirit was all around us. It was a great day
for me, for my family and for all the Saints in Italy.”
Latter-day Saints and other Christians consider Rome to be one of the most
historic locations in the world, a biblical city where the ancient apostles
Peter and Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In 1997, the Church purchased the temple site, an abandoned 15-acre farm,
which included a villa, small olive orchard and outside pizza oven.
“I used to come here as a youth, and we used to organize small soccer
games,” said Stephano Mosco, a local Latter-day Saint. “And there was a stone
over there where we used to cook pizzas.”
Trees
Olive trees from the old farm were preserved, and ancient olive trees from
northern Italy, ranging in age from 400 to 500 years old, are planted in the
piazza.
“There’s tremendous symbolism in olives and in olive trees,” said Elder
Bednar, who said the trees’ roots sink deep into the ground. “Whenever you cut
the roots of an olive tree, they’ll sprout. They don’t die; they will continue
to sprout. Some have suggested that perhaps that’s symbolic of the hope of the
resurrection.”
The Church also preserved Italian stone pine trees on the property that line
the stairs leading to the temple.
Temples
The temple will serve over 23,000 Church members living in Italy and in
neighboring countries. Currently there are more than 160 operating temples
worldwide, including 12 in Europe.
“In our holy temples, available are the most sacred and important sacrament
or ordinances that we receive as members of our Church,” taught Elder Bednar.
“And those ordinances bring peace. They bring purpose. They’re a source of
remarkable joy.”
The Latter-day Saint apostle continued: “All temples are significant because
a temple is a point of intersection between the earth and heaven. A temple is
the house of the Lord. It’s His house where we learn about Him, and we worship
Him.”
Latter-day Saint temples differ from churches where members meet for Sunday
worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where the
teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other
ceremonies that unite families for eternity.
