The church of the Sacro Cuore is a modern parish in Alcamo, in the district that grew up around viale Europa. The parish was established by the Bishop of Trapani, Monsignor Ricceri, on 4 October 1967, on land the diocese had bought years before. It began with a prefabricated structure; in 1978 the parish house and other rooms were built, and only in 1982 did proper construction of the church and the hall beneath begin. The church was completed in 1991 and consecrated in 1993.
What to see
The building has a single nave and a roof shaped like an upturned boat. In 1987 the architect Vincenzo Settipani took over from his late colleague Li Santi and designed the mosaics, stained glass, holy water stoups, font, ambo and altar, made by the Pierotti firm of Pietrasanta and the mosaicist Fabriano Fabret. The stained-glass windows on the side walls show the sacraments on one side and the three theological virtues on the other; in the apse is the mosaic of the Sacred Heart on a gold ground, flanked by Saint John the Evangelist and the Virgin.
The mosaic Stations of the Cross number ten, following Luke's Gospel; other mosaics by Gaetano Costa show Saint Pio, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and, above the main door, the Holy Family. The altar is a marble monolith with reliefs of the offerings of Melchizedek and Abel; the font, also monolithic, is shaped like an eight-petalled corolla and is deep enough for baptism by immersion.
Visiting
The large wooden confessional is by the Gaspare Ferrantelli firm; the sacristy has a wooden statue of the Sacred Heart carved in 1967 by Giuseppe Stuflesser of Ortisei. Mass times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
Look at the font: it is closed by a transparent dome topped by a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit.
