La Cappella Espiatoria is a memorial in Monza, commissioned by Vittorio Emanuele III to commemorate the assassination of his father, Umberto I. The king, shortly after his father’s death (which occurred on July 29, 1900), entrusted the project to architect Giuseppe Sacconi, already the creator of the Vittoriano project in Rome. The work was completed in 1910, making it ready for the tenth anniversary of the attack. The monument, built on the exact spot of the attack, is surrounded by a tree-lined garden, enclosed by a wrought iron fence. The interior of the temple, with a circular plan, is covered with mosaics inspired by Byzantine art and marbles of various colors and origins. Various mosaic subjects depict, in the vaults, angels with the symbols of the Passion of Christ and, in the roundels, saints and blessed members of the House of Savoy. From the outside, one can access the underlying crypt, with a Greek cross-shaped plan, covered with polychrome marbles and bronzes. The vaults are mosaic reproductions of a starry sky. At the intersection of the four arms of the crypt is a black marble marker bearing the engraved date of July 29, 1900, to remember the point where King Umberto I was shot down by the anarchist Bresci. A faint golden light filters through ten windows closed by alabaster slabs. Every July 29, as has been the case since 1911, a ceremony commemorating the regicide is held with a celebration in the chapel. A few years later, the monument was visited by Benito Mussolini, who carved the inscription: Monumento a Bresci into a stone. At night, every July 29, the monument is illuminated from the inside through the two alabaster crosses.
Information about the Expiatory Chapel
Via Matteo da Campione , 7/a
20052 Monza (Monza e della Brianza)
Source: MIBACT
