The church finished after its architect died

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Riola is the only ecclesiastical building Alvar Aalto realized in Italy. The design of the project began in 1965 - 66, with the Archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro, securing Aalto's participation upon seeing his work in an exhibition at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. Lercaro had also commissioned architects like Kenzo Tange and Le Corbusier for other churches in his domain.

Construction began in 1975, but both Aalto and Lercaro died in 1976. Because only some portions of the project masterplan were completed before their deaths, the church is considered a posthumous realization. It was consecrated in 1978 and eventually completed with a free-standing bell tower in 1994.

The structure is organized by six asymmetric prefabricated concrete frames that descend in size toward the chancel. These frames support light scoops shaped like conic sections, giving the exterior a profile that some liken to an abstraction of the local Apennine mountains. Inside, the whitewashed plaster reflects northern light brought in from these scoops. The wooden pews are each slightly shorter than the preceding one as they approach the chancel, set upon terra cotta tile floors.

The exterior features facades of mortared stone and a copper sheet roof. In the northwest corner, a slightly sunken hexagonal baptistery includes a large pyramidal skylight over the font and a vertical slit window. This window provides a view of the Reno River, which flows by the church to the north.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons