Carlo Fontana e il Santuario di Loyola. Progettazione italiana e pratiche costruttive spagnole

In 1681 Father Oliva - Superior of the Society of Jesus - charged Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) to design a great sanctuary to be erected in Loyola, Spain, near the Santa Casa where St. Ignatius lived. The ancient house, similar to a relic, imposed the research of a particular solution that would take account of his presence. However, the Ticino architect, after finished the project never visited the construction site and, even less, oversaw the work; thus, the original plan - which Hellmut Hager unearthed a plant copy several years ago - was subject to many changes. Yet Fontana was able to measure up to a prominent international assignment, where the design choices highlight the attempt to combine the functional needs of transit with the necessity of a ceremonial route, typical of votive churches. Moreover the dome - a double shell almost perfectly hemispherical - is a novelty in Spanish attitudes especially for its interior decoration made entirely by cut stones, as the entire dome, and not with the technique of masonry. In order to achieve this, the local workers had to apply the principles of stereotomy, that makes this project an unique case in the Iberian Peninsula.