Franco Antonelli and Siro Silvestri

The objective of this paper is to investigate the peculiar and innovative features of the design activity of architect Franco Antonelli in the Umbrian territory during the period 1955-75. As an architect, Antonelli possessed a sophisticated, innovative, and experimental personality, positively influenced by his enduring collaboration with Bishop Siro Silvestri. Several factors contributed to creating a productive and innovative partnership between them, which lasted nearly 15 years. Silvestri was a Conciliar father who believed in the radical renovation that the Liturgical Constitution could bring. Antonelli, instead, was a Catholic intellectual supporting the new relationship between liturgy and sacred space. The case study of the diocese of Foligno appears as an illuminating land of experimentation. By examining the realized parish centers, this paper reveals a novel Italian context in which the decision-making process was shaped by liturgical pastoral care and urban procedures, combined with innovative architectural practices.